In the Present Forever
by Cassie M. M
Summary: Kagome made a wish on the Shikon Jewel, appearing back in her own time, and couldn't get back through the well. Then, she sees some familiar people... but she thought all of their kind were dead in her time. KagomexKouga pairing!
1. Chapter 1

OK, I just got this epicly idea for a plot, and had it stuck in my head for AGES, so I put it down in Word and this has just been driving me nuts over the past few days (Parents have been annoying me about stuff, otherwise I woulda gotten this put up awhile ago) and got it uploaded and stuffs. =3. Anyways, this is KougaxKagome, and obviously it takes place in the present. Well, except for the very beginning, and memories that I might bring up, but yeah. ANYWAYS, Imma make Kouga do the Disclaimer. =D

Kouga: DISCLAIMER; Cassie does not own Inuyasha, any of its characters, or plot or whatever. If she did, there would be constant AU's where Kagome and I get together and the mutt either dies or stays with the other priestess chick. And a few other pairings, but yeah. She DOES, however, own this plot.

Me: Yups. =D. Thankies Kouga~. Poor Hojo-kun though, he'll never have a chance with Kagome in my world of fandom. *shakes head, tsking* Poor guy. Anyways, read on, everyone! This is a little over 2,100 words, WITHOUT these Author Notes. ;)

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In the Present Forever

Chapter one.

They had finally done it.

They had killed Naraku and gotten all the jewel shards!

Kagome picked up the last few pieces of the Shikon Jewel, and smiled slightly sad, slightly happy as she looked over at her friends and saw Sango crying, hugging her brother Kohaku's body tightly now that Naraku was dead and no longer controlled Kohaku, even if Kohaku had to die for it. Sango was glad her brother was no longer being forced to do things like slaughtering innocent people. Miroku, on his end, was almost crying himself, happy that his family would no longer be cursed with the damned Wind Tunnel, and was spinning around, holding Shippou and making them both dizzy as they cheered.

Inuyasha, unlike them, had a far off, sad look in his eyes. Kagome knew he was thinking of Kikyou, and having finally gotten revenge on Naraku for tricking them both and killing her.

But it hurt for Kagome to know.

It really did.

She stood and turned to face them all completely. "Hey, guys!" she shouted, catching their attention. Kagome flashed the jewel shards, and they all understood. Running over, she smiled at them, and they gave her encouraging looks. Encouraging smiles to complete the Shikon Jewel and make a wish. This might be the last time she ever saw any of them, if she was sent back to her time and couldn't get back. In fact, if that happened, it would be definite. There were no demons in her time, and there was no way that Miroku and Sango could last that long.

With their looks, she took a deep breath and did it – she completed the jewel. Kagome closed her eyes and cupped it in both hands, holding it close to her heart, thinking "What wish should I make?"

Inside, she wanted to make a wish so she could stay in the Feudal Era with them all, but she knew what she needed to do. What the right thing to do was. Opening her eyes, she looked at them all, her gaze lingering on Inuyasha, and she could feel her eyes start to water. _No, I can't cry! I can't!_ Kagome thought sternly.

Behind her smiles, she noticed, they were all sad with the realization that she'd probably have to leave. "Sayonara, mina." Kagome said softly, smiling weakly at them.

"I wish that this era and onward was peaceful, and there will be no more fighting between humans and demons," she said, more speaking to the jewel, which now glowed bright pink, and Kagome opened her eyes in time to see Sango and Shippou crying, while she could just see dark, sad faces on Miroku and Inuyasha. The jewel flashed and went back into her body, in the same spot it had first come out of when Mistress Centipede bit her and took it for power. Suddenly, Kagome saw the star-filled sky she always saw as she traveled back and forth from her time to the Feudal Era, and her heart sank.

She never saw this unless she went down the well.

So if she was seeing it now, and hadn't gone down the well, that was that.

Her job in that era was finished.

She felt the tears fall as she came into the bottom of the well at her family shrine. Crying there for a few minutes, not caring where she was at the moment, she just sat there. Then, getting over her pity-party, she called up the well. "Obii-san! Souta! Kaa-san!"

A few moments later, a ladder came down for her. Climbing up, she saw it was Souta, who was giving her a curious look that reminded her of Shippou. Bursting back into sobs, she wrapped her arms around him, making Souta freak out. "KAA-SAN! KAGOME'S BACK AND SHE'S ACTING WEIRD! SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he yelled.

Kagome straightened herself out just enough to swat him on the shoulder and glare at him as best as she could, what with her eyes all red and puffy from crying.

Their mother rushed in and suddenly wrapped her daughter in a hug. Kagome sniffled and wrapped her own arms around her mother, and after breaking apart, was led back to the house. As they walked past the God tree, Kagome started crying again, thinking of Inuyasha, and noticing that, Kagome's mother hurried her past into the house, comforting her. "How does a nice, hot bath sound hon?" her mom asked. Kagome nodded.

Her mom ran upstairs to start a bath, and Kagome grabbed some tissues, blowing her nose a little and wiping away the tear tracks on her face.

Kagome felt completely drained of energy now.

Her mother poked her head into the hallway from upstairs and said "It's ready now dear."

Kagome nodded and headed upstairs past her mom and into the bathroom. Stripping off her clothes rather slowly, her arms feeling too heavy to do it quickly, she finally climbed into the bathtub and sighed as the hot water seemed to melt away her worries and depression. After spending ages in the bathtub preening herself – not having gone to the hot springs in ages back in the Feudal Era and so being pretty dirty (and having Naraku's blood on her, EW) – she finally got out after her fingers were all wrinkly from the water. Grabbing a towel and drying herself off, she picked up her clothes, put them in the laundry hamper in her room, and changed into some nice, warm flannel pajamas.

Climbing into her bed, tired, she fell asleep immediately even with the light still on.

After a few hours of a nap, she got up and felt a little better – at least not depressed. Noticing it was dinner time, she didn't feel like changing, and instead went downstairs in her current clothes. Souta was snickering at her – for some reason he found seeing Kagome in pajamas funny, but he was a little kid AND her little brother. "Oi, baka, what's so funny, hm?" she snapped at him, slapping him on the shoulder. Rubbing his arm, he only answered by sticking his tongue out at her.

Kagome returned it with a scowl and turned to her food (Momma had put out a plate as soon as she came in), a slightly faraway look on her face. Eating with her chopsticks rather slowly, her grandfather noticed the look and frowned. "What's wrong Kagome?" he asked.

Kagome jumped a little, and smiled weakly. "Nothing, Obii-san."

Grandpa looked at her. "Ka-go-me." He growled. He was not going to let this go until she told him.

Kagome faltered and hung her head meekly. He sounded serious. "I… I…" Kagome said, her voice sounding unnaturally higher than usual, like she was about to cry. "I can't go back to the Feudal Era anymore! Happy?" she yelled. She left the room, leaving her food half-finished.

It was ok about the food, she had been starting to feel full anyway, but her thoughts were on her grandpa. WHY did he have to pry? I just wanna be left ALONE… Kagome thought in her room, her face buried in her pillow.

The next morning, Kagome was up and dressed before anyone else. If her plan didn't work… well, she'd go to school like she's supposed to, but she had to TRY first! She had to at least try.

She walked into the well house and opened the doors to it. Taking a deep breath, she jumped in. Landing on the bottom and, obviously, not seeing the star-filled sky like usual, she balled up her fists.

She had been right.

She couldn't go back.

Kagome fought back the hot tears she could feel stinging behind her eyes and got back out of the well. Now to go back to school... like a normal girl.

At least she would only miss school if she was _really_ sick now, no more of her grandpa saying she had arthritis or something.

Running now - because thats what she always did... force of habit - she got to school pretty early.

In fact, she even got there before the earliest kid in school - Hojo! When he came in and saw her, he was definitely surprised.

For one, she was actually at school for once.

And second, she was there before him! She was usually late! "Has Doomsday finally arrived?" Hojo asked jokingly. "You're not late for school, for once that you're actually here."

Kagome jumped at his voice, having been staring out the window, dreamlike. "Heheh, don't think so Hojo-kun~." Kagome said, masking her depression with a cheery voice. "I just woke up early this morning and figured that I should get going early before my usual luck caught up with me."

"Well, in any case, I'm glad to see you're not sick for once, Kagome-san." Hojo replied, smiling at her like he always did - bright and happy like you would smile at someone you liked. "Make sure you eat foods with plenty of vitamins so you don't get sick again!" he said.

Kagome answered with her own smile when her friends walked in the door and squealed. "KAGOME!" They immediately glomphed her, blocking Kagome from Hojo's view. He went to his own seat, and since they were the only noise in the classroom, had trouble finding something to do so he couldn't overhear them.

And, of course, what they were talking about was just so INTERESTING! "So, Kagome, what about that guy of yours? How's everything going? We want all the juicy details!" Hojo could hear.

Hojo was really disappointed about hearing she already had a boyfriend... but he brightened up a little hearing her reply. "Well... You could say that something happened to where I can't see him at all anymore... so we've basically broken up... After all, there's no way for me to contact him to stay in touch in any way."

He only felt a little guilty about feeling happy about that.

Just a little.

"Awww!" Yuka cried out. Eri chirped "Well, he was no good for you anyways! After all, he kept flirting with his ex-girlfriend, didn't he?"

Ayumi elbowed Eri in the ribs. "Even if he did, Kagome really liked him! I'm sure she's absolutely _depressed_ about it, even though she's hiding it!"

Yuka suddenly had a look that screamed 'EPIPHANY!'

Whispering to Ayumi and Eri, so that Kagome couldn't hear, she told them her idea. "Girls, we should get Kagome a new guy! Someone who won't cheat on her, of course. And in fact, I say Hojo-kun over there is _perfect_ for the job! Whaddya say?"

"Yuka, you are a _genius_!" Ayumi and Eri said in unison, having 'OMG' looks on their faces.

"Okay, you guys need to..." Yuka said, telling them the plan to try and get Kagome and Hojo together. Nodding determinedly, the three of them turned to Kagome, giving her bright, though somewhat evil and plotting, smiles, and leaving to go sit at their own seats for class. "Meet you after class, Kagome~!" they sang.

Kagome felt uneasy - she knew that look on their faces. _They're planning something_, Kagome thought. _Crap._

Later, at the park, Kagome impatiently waited for Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi to show up. They had told her to meet them here, and THEY were late! Unbelievable. Scowling, Kagome lost it and started running home - NOT a good idea.

She ran smack into someone - she was keeping her eyes on the ground as she ran, so she didn't see them as she rounded the corner. Kagome could feel herself falling backwards, and braced herself for landing on her ass, but...

She didn't. Instead, she felt someone's arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her from falling. Looking up, she saw a familiar face with a black ponytail of hair over the guys shoulder, hanging down, and wide blue eyes looking at her in shock.

Damn lucky that no other people happened to be around to see the two of them, ne? People might start thinking things.

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Me: SO! How was it? R&R please! You know you want to click that review button! :D.

Kagome: *pops in* Cassie says that flames will be ignored (If you don't like the story, don't read it), but Con Crit is loved. CC is always good, so be nice to her!


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm SO sorry! This is, like, half the length of last chapter. ;_;. It's 1,207 words, without these author notes. Please don't hurt meeeeee! DX. Anyways, I won't be able to update for awhile because my time on the computer has now been very limited, and I won't be able to do anything at ALL on the weekends. Gomendensai! I got an E in Social Studies right now, but if I can bring that up to at least a C and make sure everything else is at least that high (No problem, getting passing in everything else I believe, I'll check later) mom MIGHT reconsider. I hope she does, I plan on getting AT LEAST a B on the final for SS. My teacher, Mr. Marker, said that whatever grade we get on the finals will be out grade for the quarter - unless our average is higher, in which case we'll still get the average for work instead of the final exam's grade. But I can't possibly do worse on the test than in class, honestly. So, unless I can manage to update before summer break, see you later! Kagome-chan, disclaimer, onegai?**

**Kagome: Sure. DISCLAIMER: Cassie doesn't own ANYTHING of Inuyasha. And if she did, it would probably be disastrous. She only owns this plot, which I honestly don't know what she has planned for it. She might do eeeeeevvvvviiiillllll things.**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Two

_Kouga_? Kagome thought. It certainly _looked_ like Kouga.

But…

It _couldn't_ be! Demons didn't _exist_ in her time.

Unless… Did the wish she made in the past affect the present?

Well… the only way she'd find out is if it _was_ Kouga. But it probably wasn't, considering he wasn't flirting with her like Kouga always did when he saw her. _But then again_, Kagome reminded herself. _It HAS been five hundred years for him, if it's the actual Kouga. He could have forgotten what I look like, or smell like, or whatever else you want to say._

The Kouga-lookalike helped her to stand up and let go of her waist. Kagome was a bit red as she noted exactly how he'd caught her. Kagome bowed her head and said "Gomendensai! I wasn't looking where I was going."

The boy grinned wolfishly (Semi-conceitedly too). "It's okay, honestly. Everyone does that sometimes." He said.

Kagome looked up, still blushing a little. "Ano… thank for catching me. You must be really quick."

He smirked. DUH he was fast. "No problem. Where were you headed anyways?"

Kagome gasped. "Crap! I gotta get home! Sorry for everything, but I gotta go now, bye!" she said, sprinting away.

He laughed a bit and walked on. "I doubt she really is Kagome, but if she is, she hasn't changed." Kouga mused to himself, heading towards a nice little café he knew of to meet Ginta and Hakkaku, plus a few other old friends. "But then again… the mutt never _did_ tell me what happened to her."

Kagome finally reached her house (Not having run into anyone else, thankfully) and apologized to her mother for being late getting home, saying she had run into an obnoxious boy on the way home and it took awhile for her to get away from him. _Not ENTIRELY a lie_, Kagome thought._ He was a bit obnoxious, and I did run into him, but it was more I FORGOT that I was headed home instead of it being that it took ages to get away._. Walking into her room and dumping her briefcase bag on her bed, about to do her homework, her cell phone (forgotten on her desk that morning) rang.

_Hey hey, anoko_

_Wa ima ichi!_

_Ne ne atarashii_

_Ko ga hitsuyou._

_Hey hey, atashi_

_Nante iinjyanai!_

Picking it up, she sighed "Hello?"

"KAGOME!" Yuka shouted on the other side. Kagome held the phone a foot or so from her ear, so as not to become deaf. "WHERE ARE YOU?" Putting it back to her ear so she could reply, she snapped at Yuka.

"WELL, little miss hypocrite, I was tired of waiting for you three to show up when YOU guys told me to meet you there, and to be ON TIME. So don't you DARE talk like that to ME about this, because it's YOUR fault for not being there on time!"

Yuka was silent for a few moments before going "Oh. Sorry! We meant to be on time… We had a little trouble."

"With what?"

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about." Yuka sang sweetly.

"Yuuuuu-kaaaaa." Kagome scowled.

"You'll find out, Kagome. We'll come by in a couple of hours for you, 'kay? Bye!" And Yuka hung up before Kagome could argue anymore. Kagome 'tch'd and went to go do her homework. There was no point in getting worked up over Yuka - the girl was simply insufferable sometimes.

Of course, Kagome was never come for by her friends.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

It was Friday. FINALLY. But there was a problem.

Kagome had the interview today.

She wanted to bite her nails, but resisted the urge - it wouldn't look good to appear nervous. She NEEDED this job! She couldn't keep spending her mom's money, and she needed some of her own! Kagome had seen this nice café that said help was wanted, so she applied, and a few days later now she was in the interview for a job as a waitress.

She'd seen the uniforms – they weren't obscenely inappropriate, thankfully; a white button up shirt, a black vest that looked tailored, and either a pair of black slacks or a black skirt, which could be long and smooth, or pleated and about as short as her school uniform.

"You've got the job," the man said.

Kagome jumped. She realized what he said and she practically jumped from happiness. "Ah, thank you!" she said. "Ano… when can I start?"

"Would tomorrow work out? The sooner the better, in my opinion - we are a little short on staff compared to the number of customers we get."

"Mmm, yes, I think my mother will let me. I just can't stay out too late, she'll worry. Otherwise, I'll have to be calling her every half hour or so. Since tomorrow is Saturday, though, I'll be fine. Umm, should I come at around opening time? Or before?"

Kagome talked everything out with her new boss, and ended up taking a booklet home to make sure that she knew what to do, like greeting the customers and all that not-really-important stuff but is needed because if they don't do it people will complain about poor service and give this little-but-somewhat-popular-café a bad reputation.

The next morning, Kagome got up early, feeling hyper. She took a shower quickly – a good impression on the first day of work was always important, washing her hair and all that good stuff.

She dressed in her regular clothes so she didn't get her work clothes dirty on the way – she was supposed to change at work anyways – she put her work clothes in her briefcase, having dumped out her school stuff last night to have room to put her clothes in there – and ran downstairs to eat a quick breakfast and head down to the café, getting there about five minutes before opening time. They let her inside the changing rooms, and she just managed to get out in time to greet the first customers.  
Hearing the door's bell ring, she turned around and smiled sweetly.

"Well well well," a voice said. Opening her eyes to see the speaker, her eye twitched.

_WHY was it her luck to run into the same guy by total accident TWICE in a row? Why her?_

"We just make a habit of running into each other, ne?"

**

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Me: Hi! R&R please? It makes us author peoples happy. =3. BTW, people have apparently voted for BanxKag in my WWII fanfiction, so if you like that pairing too, watch out for it! =D. I'm going to start working on it soon. Though I really shouldn't... I already have this story AND another. -sigh- ANYWAYS, REVIEW! You know you want to! I gotta go now! Must take bath and put school clothes in washer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I tried to make it two thousand words without these author notes. I'm sorry but I just couldn't give away more at the end! It just wouldn't have worked out well for how I keep placing cliffies everywhere. ;_;. It's at a count of 1,958 words, without these notes.**

**Now for the groveling - I'M SORRY! I didn't update around Monday-Tuesday-ish like I said I would! My computers internet totally went haywire on Monday night, and then I was working on a homework project so I couldn't update my story. My computer finally got internet working again yesterday, but my dad and my sisters boyfriend had to replace Explorer with Firefox, so it's really annoying (even though I kinda like FF better than EXP) because I had to play around for a few minutes just to upload this chapter! And I'll have to play around more to actually update it onto ITPF. Ginta, Hakkaku, wanna do the disclaimer for me? Pretty please?**

**Ginta: Uhh... Okay... Disclaimer: Cassie does not own anything of Inuyasha, (Me: *cuts in quickly* I wish I DID though - that would be awesome), but she does own this plot. And any others she's done/doing.  
**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Three

Kagome kept her smile in place even though the man was being absolutely insufferable. "A table for three, I presume?" she asked, in as sweet a voice as she could manage_. Kouga, Ginta, AND Hakkaku look-alikes_, Kagome thought drearily. _How quaint. Am I just paranoid, or is Destiny determined to make my life living hell by reminding me of the Feudal Era? Because I am PRETTY sure that's what she has planned for me right now!  
_

Kouga shook his head. "No, actually, a table for four. Another one of our friends will be joining us later. He should be by in about ten minutes or so."

Kagome REALLY hoped that it wouldn't be someone that looked like Ayame or something.

She'd scream if it was. Hell, the REAL Ayame would likely glomph her and scream at her for flirting with Kouga. Which never actually happened, it had always been the other way around, but same difference.

Ayame never seemed to figure out that Kouga liked Kagome, but she'd ever thought of him that way back. Either that, or it was always that Kagome must have put a spell on Kouga to make him fall in love with her. Which was a load of bullshit, though Kagome never said so... not aloud at least.

In her mind, totally.

"Of course." Kagome said to him. She quickly located a good table for four in a little niche-like area. _Hopefully I won't be forced to serve them_, she thought to herself. Alas, Lady Luck had other plans in mind. "Here you are."

"Ah! Higurashi-san! We need help!" a voice said as more customers poured in. Kagome's heart sank.

She was gonna have to serve these guys.

No one else was gonna be able to take charge of them until the place quieted down some.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked, handing them all menus and adding a fourth for the one to be coming. Kouga ordered iced tea for all three of them and also added a virgin strawberry daiquiri for their friend. Kagome wrote all this down on a little sheet of paper and went gave it to the kitchens.

Going over to help some of the other customers, she delivered their drinks, and then Kouga pointed to a man looking around at the door, saying "Ah! There's our friend. Could you guide him over here, please?"

Kagome plastered on a smile and tried not to scream as she turned around…

And saw a full-grown version of the little young kitsune that was practically her son that she'd left behind forever in the Feudal Era.

Or so she thought.

She was frozen.

Her face paled. Kami-sama, her legs felt like jello! She was positive she'd collapse any MOMENT now!

She steeled herself anyways and went over to him, a weak smile on her face. Shippou had no tail, but then again that could be a concealing spell to hide his demonic features. She was pretty sure that there was the possibility of it. If demons did exist today (which they didn't... they all died out, right?) that was probably the way they'd keep themselves unknown by humans.

"H-hello." She said, stuttering. "A-ahhh, y-you're with th-the party o-over there, r-right?"

Shippou cocked his head – like a golden retriever – and looked in the direction she pointed. His eyes brightened. "Mmm, yeah," he said, smiling. She looked exactly like Kagome, and it made him smile. He was positive it was her, even though he couldn't exactly remember her smell, she smelled and looked familiar. "Excuse me, but would your name happen to be Kagome? You look exactly like her, a girl I knew very long ago."

His green eyes still held pure curiosity, mischievousness, and yet magically managed to have that contradictory maturity in them.

Kagome eyed him and nodded, kind of proud. Even though she hadn't been able to be there to watch him, he was still like her son in the Feudal Era, and he'd grown up. She could tell it was him, though she was still a little unnerved.

"Y-yes, I am. You wouldn't believe this, b-but I actually knew a little boy some time ago, you look like an adult version of him. Y-you could say he was like my son, almost. His name was Shippou." Kagome said as she led him over to the other three. As he sat down, she asked "Anyways, are you four ready to order?"

They shook their heads, she nodded, and turned away to go help some other customers.

Three. Hours. Later.

They were STILL there, just chatting away, continuously ordering drinks and snacks every so often. One of the other girls that worked there – Myu – said that they were regulars and ALWAYS did this. "Mou!" Kagome huffed. "Shouldn't there be, like, a time limit on how long one party can stay in the restaurant?" she asked.

"If we did that, we could get sued because they technically have every right to stay here as long as they want. And if we did have a policy like that, people might stop coming." Myu said, shaking her head.

At least it was her lunch break – FINALLY. She could stop serving them for awhile. Of course the only free table (she didn't feel like leaving the shop because there was no place else very close) was by the four of them, and reluctantly she sat there with a nice hot chocolate she'd asked for, sipping at it.

And she just couldn't help overhear what the four guys were talking about – they were right behind her, and even though they were quiet enough to keep anyone else from hearing, hers had learned to improve in the Feudal Era if she wanted to stay alive without Inuyasha, Miroku, or Sango around for more than five minutes.

"Listen, Kouga, I knew Kagome a LOT better than any of you three. I had a much deeper connection with her – she was practically like my mother. I'm positive it's her. Just let me poke around – I know what to do. I mean, I've only lived over five hundred years!" Shippou whispered harshly to Kouga, who was stone-faced towards the kitsune. "No Shippou." The wolf demon replied, shaking his head. "I refuse to let you. We should work together on this. Okay, maybe not these two, but you and me. Ginta and Hakkaku saw her less than even me, so they probably wouldn't help much."

"We would too be of help Kouga! How could you think of us so lowly?" Ginta said, looking at Kouga with a hurt expression. Hakkaku's face matched Ginta's exactly.

"Oh, stop whining you two!" Kouga said, rolling his eyes at them. "Fine, you can help if we work out a good plan. If it is her, she'll probably trust Shippou most of all. He IS right – he knew her best out of us all."

"I'm glad to know you finally agree." Shippou smirked, almost gloatingly. "I'm young enough to look like I only belong in high school, so I can enter as a new student…"he said, delving into a plan about that.

That little tidbit officially pissed Kagome off. She could tell it was them, but she couldn't say anything. That would just be disastrous right at the moment. As she got back to work, they finally decided it was time to leave, so they paid their bill, gave her a VERY nice tip (twenty-five dollars! SCORE!), and did so.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome finally left the café at around six p.m. after working from eight in the morning, with about an hour and a half break (two fifteen minute breaks, then an hour long lunch break) out of the total ten hours she spent at the café. On her FIRST DAY. Thank Kami-sama that she was getting about nine-hundred yen per hour (about ten US dollars). That was pretty good money every two weeks, even AFTER taxes, for a high-schooler. She'd have nice spending money for awhile.

Making her way home, Kagome decided to stop by the park for a bit, maybe get on the swings. She had nothing better to do – she just needed to call her mom and tell her she'd be a little late getting home. Pulling out her cell-phone, she told her mother she was going to be a bit late, and not to worry about her. She'd be home in an hour at the latest, and if she was going to be even later, she'd call again.

Going inside the little gate surrounding the park, she made her way to her favorite spot there, sitting on the swings, thinking.

She started crying. Again. Kagome couldn't help it – everyone in the Feudal Era, everyone she had cared the most about apart from her family, had been left behind, and she'd never see them again. Never. It was a painful thought, truly.

They WERE her family – she only wish she knew how Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha went on. She couldn't talk to Shippou – she probably just imagined it as wishful thinking, that entire conversation she overheard. Supposedly overheard. She was probably just desperate for some connection to the past or something, imagining the look-alikes that were totally different looking people. After all, a look-alike sounded ridiculous. So did doppelganger, or anything else she came up with.

Then again…

She was Kikyou's reincarnation…

And supposedly looked almost exactly like her…

That couldn't be the case… could it?

Nah, she was just imagining things again. There was no way that was the case! None at all.

After a few minutes of telling herself this sternly, she wiped away her tears, and stood up. She'd better get home. She sniffled a little and swayed, grabbing a chain of the swings to steady herself. Once she was sure she could walk without looking like she was drunk or something, she walked out, her eyes on the ground as she tried to keep from crying again.

Course, LAST time she kept her eyes on the ground, she ended up running into someone... literally.

The sniffling didn't help her feelings, and her mood went from just depressed to depressed-annoyed as she heard a voice she spent a good three hours listening to at work that day.

"Yo." Kouga said, grinning. When she looked up the glare at him ruefully, his look changed to concern. "You okay? You look like you've been crying."

Kagome barked out a harsh, forced, bitter laugh. "Ha! If there WAS something wrong with me, why would I tell YOU, hmm? You're a stranger to me. So just shut up."

Kouga's voice adapted to a sorrowful but slightly condescending tone that made her want to strangle him. Like was making fun of her. "Awww, you forgot about me already? I told you that you were my woman. How could you forget that, Kagome? Then again, that was five hundred years ago."

"Fuck. My. Life."

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**So, was this chapter to everyone's liking? Apart from the slight cliffie, I mean. If you can call it a cliffie. I don't really think so, but hey, closest thing I can call it that I know of. Thankies to EVERYONE who reviewed, and I hope that you will review again! *winkwink nudgenudge***

**As soon as I finish the first chappie, I will put up my WWII plot, 'kay? I started working on it, but after trying to use my dad's comp, I failed miserably in trying to do what I was doing. My USB stick went retarded, and ALL the work I did on dad's comp went POOF. .. So, am working on that.**

**Uh... other than that news, erm... nothing's going on, soo... yeah. Will be delayed by schoolwork and such though; don't get out till at least next week. ;_;  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! If you're seriously still reading this, then I love you. This chapter might be considered to have a little fluff, lol. And this level is probably the worst that it'll get in fluff, considering two things: One, I hate fluff - so GIRLY! DX. Two, I'm probably not very good at writing it. I dunno, I've never tried, so no one's ever read my fluff and been like "OMG YOUR FLUFF SUCKS! GO DIE FOR MAKING SUCH BAD FLUFF!" xD. But considering I hate it, I'm probably not good at it. Let me know. ;).**

**Also, I'm SOOOOOO sorry I took so long updating. I had my graduation yesterday from 8th grade, and when I got home my feet were ready to start developing blisters if I'd stayed in those dress shoes for much longer, and I did NOT feel like doing anything other than playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, but it wouldn't work, saying "Insert Expansion disk" even though I HAD the expansion disk IN there, and I didn't work on this chapter until about five in the evening, and that was only every few minutes instead of constantly.  
**

**Anyways, would you do the Discaimer, Ayame?**

**Ayame: I don't show up for a few chapters yet though... -_-'.**

**Me: It's OK! You're mentioned in this chapter, so I say you should do it! =D**

**Ayame: Uhhh... Oooookaaaaaayyyyyyy then. Disclaimer: Cassandra-san does not own any of the characters or even the idea of Inuyasha - that pleasure is owned by Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Me: Wait a second, how did you find out my birth name? (Cassie is just a nickname, folks.)**

**Ayame: I have my resources. *is smirking superiorly***

**Me: ... Whatever. ANYWAYS, this story is basically one thousand eight hundred words, without these author notes. BE HAPPY! Go ahead and read now. ^^. *insert musical note smiley here*  
**

* * *

In the Present Forever

Chapter Four

"Fuck. My. Life." Kagome said, frustrated. She HAD seen a grown-up Shippou, she HAD seen Ginta and Hakkaku back at the café, and this was most DEFINITELY Kouga she was talking to right now! Why did Fate decide to make HER life a living hell?

"Actually, I'd rather have you." He said smartly, grinning flirtatiously at her. "But then again, I think that might be illegal, because I'm a few years older than you. Or rather, appear a few years older. Pretty sure that this body is, like, supposed to be eighteen, whereas I'm actually over five hundred years old."

"Hentai." Kagome said resentfully. She had finally been getting over the fact that she'd never see anything from the Feudal Era again, and yet here was a certain wolf demon, his two followers no doubt somewhere close by.

"Hey, you said it first." Kouga teased. "I was just saying the truth."

"You're still a hentai," she grumbled. Kagome shoved passed him, trying to get home before her mom worried, but she felt Kouga wrap his arms around her from behind, keeping her from moving. "Kouga. Get. Off. NOW." Kagome growled.

"But I want to keep talking, Kagome. Please, will you just sit and listen to me for a bit?" Kouga asked, not teasing anymore. "You have to remember – I haven't seen you since I gave you my jewel shards back in the Feudal Era. The mutt never told me where you went – he'd just stare off into the sky all guilty and sad-like whenever I tried to get the info out of him. And Shippou did the same. He practically started crying, in fact. And your other two friends – Sango and Miroku – they never answered my questions either. They just looked away, like you'd died and they couldn't bear to say it aloud. I was getting freaked out about where you were."

"…" Kagome was silent for a few seconds, but she loosened her shoulders, convincing Kouga that she wouldn't run off if he let go. She turned around to face him, backing up a few steps to have her little space-bubble. "I want to know two things. First, what happened to Sango and Miroku? Like, did they finally get together? And second, if you, Shippou, Ginta, and Hakkaku are all alive, where is Inuyasha?"

Kouga rubbed the back of his head, trying to remember the first question's answer, but had a distant look in his eyes at the mention of Inuyasha. "Well, I think that the two of them had a boy and two girls after getting married." He said, avoiding the second question.

"What about Inuyasha?"

"…."

"Kouga. I'm NOT kidding. Where. Is. INUYASHA?"

"… Dead. About a hundred years ago. Got into another fight with his brother, but Tetsaiga wouldn't transform… and you know how the mutt's brother was – excuse me, is. The guy's still around… somewhere. He didn't hold back." Kouga said, looking away from her because he knew she was about to cry.

Kagome couldn't speak now. Not only where demons from her past, but her love was dead. Gone! She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. "Why did Sesshomaru have to kill Inuyasha? Why couldn't he have just beaten Inuyasha and let him live?"

"Well, I guessed that he was tired of Inuyasha being… himself. The way the mutt acted all the time, 'specially to his brother. Guess it got on the guy's last nerve, he challenged the mutt, and killed him, not wanting to deal with him again… According to that girl, think her name is Rin, he's gotten better over the past hundred years, but I dunno myself. I don't trust the guy enough to hang around him other than chance meetings on the street or in the store." Kouga shrugged.

Kagome could feel the tears fall now, but she really couldn't care less. Sesshomaru had killed Inuyasha for a real stupid reason, if that was it. Truth be told, she couldn't see any other reason he would do it either – that would be her guess too. That he'd killed Inuyasha… for being Inuyasha.

She knew that Tetsaiga only transformed when he was going to use it to protect humans… Were there any humans around when the fight had happened? If there were, did that mean…

That Inuyasha hated humans again when he fought Sesshomaru?

_No!_ Kagome thought harshly._ I can't think like that! Inuyasha would never hate humans – unless…_

_He had been in his bloodlust full-demon form…_

_Is it possible that side had been unlocked, again?_

Kagome couldn't take it. Her thoughts made her stomach churn and her eyes burn, and brought back memories…

Memories of when Inuyasha had murdered many men… all in that bloodlust form.

Kagome wiped away her tears, though she could still feel some threatening to pour out.

"Kagome, you should get home." Kouga said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let me walk you. You're a mess."

"Oh, thanks a lot, that's something a girl always wants to hear!" she said bitterly. Again, the floodgates opened up and she ended up sobbing into his shirt.

"Come on. Tell me which way to go." Kouga commanded sternly. _She cries a lot… I guess it hurts to think about it still_, he thought to himself as Kagome picked up the pieces of herself, wiping her tears and pointing in the direction of the most direct route to her home. Kouga managed to pick her up in a way so that she was on his back, even though Kagome was clearly protesting, saying he did NOT have to carry her and other such things. After a minutes of arguing and the fact that Kouga was much stronger than her, she finally gave up and wrapped her arms around his neck as he walked.

"So… How are you still alive? I mean, most humans don't live more than eighty years. That girl that's stayed with Sesshomaru for the past five hundred years only lived because he revived her from the dead with his one sword, so she's gonna last a lot longer by natural means, long as someone doesn't do something like stick a knife in her side or something, but she still ages even though it's really slow. How did you manage to live past the last five hundred without looking like you've aged a day?" _Yes, that's it, change the subject, let's do that, get her mind off of Inuyasha_, he thought.

"Actually, I'm still just sixteen…" Kagome said, laying her head on his back tiredly. "The thing is, at my house, there's a well. Do you remember the Bone Eater's Well near Kaede's village? It's the very same well. I'm not sure how, but if I jump into the well, I can go back and forth between then and now… or at least, I used to be able to. I tried the other day… and I just ended up in the bottom of the well at home."

"So that's why you'd suddenly disappear from the group sometimes... How come the other four never came with you?" Kouga asked curiously.

"For some reason, Inuyasha was the only other one ever able to come through... I couldn't for the life of me tell you why that was though," she replied, sighing.

"Ah." _Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap. Nice going, idiot, _he thought._ Another way to bring up the mutt!_

_He's so warm…_ Kagome thought drowsily. _It's also quite comfy here too~_, she giggled at her own thoughts. She knew if she'd been around Inuyasha right then, he'd probably have started asking her what the hell was so funny, with his cute little dog ears pressed up against his head.

"Hey!" Kouga said, a vein popping out on his forehead. "What're you giggling at?"

"Sorry… Just thinking. Make a right here," she replied, smiling. "And also… Kouga?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks… You know… for this and all. You didn't have to, really. I could've gotten home on my own."

"What? Me, Kouga, leave a pretty girl like you out to wander the streets alone? What kind of guy do you think I am?" he said, pretending to be offended to try and make her laugh some more. _Her laugh is cute_, he thought. _She should laugh more instead of cry all the time._

Of course, she did giggle a bit. "Huh, and here I thought chivalry was dead." Kagome replied to him slyly.

"Not in me. Only in the guys of today – I've managed to retain mine for the past five hundred years. And you know that whatever I'll do, Ginta and Hakkaku will too."

"Oh, really now? So if you were to get married to some random girl you don't know, or became gay, the two of them would too?" Kagome asked, snickering.

"..."

"Well?"

"You know, it's really NOT fair for you to take my words and twist them around like that?" Kouga grumbled, making Kagome laugh again.

"Hey, make a left here," she said.

"Yeah, sure, change the subject." Kouga muttered, even though he obligingly turned. Speaking up, he added "But I doubt that they would. I think Ginta likes Ayame, so it's kinda unlikely if you ask me."

"Well, I don't think Ayame likes him back." Kagome replied, smirking. "As I recall, she was obsessed with you."

"Yep. But for the past nine scores, I haven't seen hide nor hair of her, thankfully." Kouga said, laughing.

"Huh. I wonder if she finally gave up or if she's waiting for you to come to her, instead of stalking you." Kagome said. "Oh! Here's my family's shrine! Let me down now, Kouga."

"You forgot the magic word, Kagome." Kouga teased, making Kagome roll her eyes.

"Please let me down now."

"There we go," he said, squatting so that Kagome could get down without hurting herself.

"Like I said earlier, thanks for taking me home. You seriously didn't have to." Kagome said. She gave him a quick thank-you kiss on the cheek and ran inside her house to announce she was finally home.

Kouga sighed._ Don't go around by yourself, Kagome…_

_If I'm right, you have the Shikon Jewel in your body, like before, because you're the Shikon no tama miko._

_And having the Shikon Jewel shan't bode well._

_You may become the target of some of the nastier demons still around, waiting for that power.

* * *

_

**So, how'd you like it? Tell me, my pretties! Review, before I lose my mind and start acting like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club and make my own instant emo corner!**

**And yes, I literally did just say "my pretties" and talk about a completely and totally unrelated to Inuyasha anime/manga. If you haven't seen it, I really suggest you take a look at it because it is HILARIOUS. xD. Now, review review review! You might encourage me to update faster. =3. Or rather, type up the next chapter faster and update it. ^^.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay. First off... GOMEN NASAI! (That's apparently the actual way to spell it, no 'd'. Found out from someone who actually is a native Japanese.)**

**PLEASE don't kill me for not having updated for, like, almost three weeks. I've been really lazy the past couple of weeks... My bad. ^^'.**

**BUT! Be happy! Please! This is 3,641 words, WITHOUT these author notes! I worked my ass off to get this done! I think that most of that is taken up by her flashback, though, so... yeah. Anyways, Souta will now do the disclaimer!**

**Souta: Why me? .**

**Me: Cause I say so. Now DO IT! Before I have Hiei come and cut your head off!**

**Souta: Why are you talking about a completely unrelated anime/manga in here?**

**Me: Uh... Because Yu Yu Hakusho is awesome, just like Inuyasha, and I can! So there! Now do the disclaimer!**

**Souta: Riiiggghhhttt. Whatever. DISCLAIMER: Cass doesn't own anything of Inuyasha... or that reference of Yu Yu Hakusho. The only thing she DOES own is the plot for this fanfic, and any others she's working on.**

**Me: Good boy! *hands Souta twenty boxes of chocolate Pockies as reward* Now, read on now that you may or may not have read this useless crap in the beginning!  
**

* * *

In the Present Forever

Chapter Five

Kagome lay on her bed, unconsciously gripping the osuwari beads in her hand – the ones she'd taken off of Inuyasha so he didn't have to deal with the "SIT!" anymore. She'd taken them by accident – the only way they could be carried was in her bag or around someone's neck, and since Kagome didn't want it being forgotten somewhere if taken off, she'd put it in her bag…

Truthfully, Inuyasha had wanted to get rid of the things so he couldn't even be reminded of them anymore, but Kagome had wanted to keep them… Why? Inside, she really didn't even know.

She guessed that deep down, she thought they had a sort of sentimental value to her, even if the only thing they ever did was force Inuyasha twenty feet into the ground headfirst when she yelled "Sit" a few times.

Right now, she was remembering her time in the Feudal Era… again. When she first met Inuyasha…

Kami-sama, was that a funny memory.

~~~FLASHBACK!~~~

"_Kagome! I think Buyo's in the well house, but… It's too scary to go in there..." Souta yelled._

_Kagome rolled her eyes and went in, calling for their fat but cute cat. "There's nothing wrong in here, you chicken," she scoffed as she looked._

_Suddenly, she heard a thump coming from inside the well itself. Eyebrows raised curiously, and thinking it was Buyo, she wondered how he'd managed to get IN there… Walking over to the well, she could hear her little brother's protests of not opening the well's lid._

_She heard a meow right as she opened the thumping well lid, which was probably about to break anyways, and a chill ran down her spine as she looked BEHIND her…_

_And saw Buyo._

_Suddenly, six arms snaked out, grabbed Kagome, and pulled her in. Kagome didn't even hear her brother start to hyperventilate that his sister had been PULLED into the well. Something. Was. WRONG!_

_Kagome found herself looking at a woman who, first off, needed a freaking BRA and a SHIRT, and secondly, had no lower body…_

_Though it looked like she has some kind of skeleton trailing from her body._

"_You have it, don't you girl? Yeesssssss, I can sense the Shikon Jewel in you! You WILL give me that jewel, girl! I MUST have the power of the Shikon!" the woman rasped._

_Kagome was confused. Shikon Jewel, she thought to herself. Why does that sound familiar? Oh, yeah! Ojii-san was talking about that legend! But… Isn't it just that – a legend?_

_Having a bad feeling, Kagome tore away from the half-woman, and found herself outside the well again._

_But…_

_Why did it look so different? Getting up, she walked straight into the forest, a bad feeling creeping up her spine._

_Kagome stumbled upon a boy… Who was really cute! He had long, flowy white hair, and even though he was bound by vines to a tree, he looked like he was sleeping! She didn't know what was up with his clothes – they were red, and it looked like some kind of robe. Kagome started to walk up to him, using the tree's vines as a walkway, and looked at him closely. Now that she was close, she could see the furry little dog ears on top of his head… Kawaii!_

_Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she touched his ears, rubbing them to see how they felt. They were, like, uber-soft! And they felt so real... She didn't have to time to be messing around like this!_

"_Hey! What are you doing?" a voice yelled. Kagome unconsciously pressed herself against the boy as arrows flew towards her, barely missing. "This land is FORBIDDEN!"_

_Looking up, Kagome saw some people, the ones that presumably shot at her, since they were holding bows._

_The other one asked "Are you a foreigner?" This land sure as hell was foreign to HER, but she somehow knew that would be a bad thing to say._

_After that, Kagome found herself tied up in their village, wanting to be unbound, as the people talked about whether she was a spy, a kitsune in disguise, or what._

_Kagome suddenly noticed… they all looked like they were from Sengoku Jidai, back in Feudal Japan. How strange. Was this some sort of cosplaying convention she'd intruded upon?_

"_Clear the way! Miko Kaede-sama is coming!" a voice shouted. The crowd obligingly parted, making way for an old woman wearing an eyepatch._

_Great, another weirdo arrives, Kagome thought._

"_Why were you in Inuyasha's Forest, girl?" the old woman said. Kagome actually fully turned to the woman now, confused. She was about to ask what Inuyasha's Forest was, but Kaede suddenly came over, a surprised look on her face. The old woman put her hand on Kagome's cheek, looking at her. "Let me see your face clearer," she said. Then, adding "Try to look more intelligent," Kagome became more than a little annoyed. What was WITH that, telling her to "look more intelligent? Rude, that's what it was!_

"_You… You resemble Kikyou-onee-sama." Kaede said, looking even more surprised, and even a bit pale. Kagome clearly looked confused now, tilting her head to the side, saying "Huh?"_

_Back in Kaede's hut, Kagome was told who Kikyou was, and finally got untied by Kaede. Taking a sip of the soup that Kaede gave her, she dared to ask the question she probably didn't want to know the answer to. "Umm… This isn't Tokyo, is it?"_

_Now it was Kaede's turn to be confused. "I've never heard of the place. Is that your province?"_

"_Uhh… Yeah, you can say that." Inside, she was wondering how the hell she was going to get back home. Suddenly hearing noises outside, Kagome got up and opened the door, shrieking out as she saw a horse suddenly fall in front of her, a piece of it's flesh torn out to where you could see it's ribs._

"_Mo… Mononoke!" one of the villagers cried, running away from a giant centipede demon with the top half of a body of a woman. Suddenly, Mistress Centipede looked over at Kagome, and Kagome could feel her body freeze as her thoughts and wits ran through her mind like rabbits being chased by a pack of hunting dogs._

_Mistress Centipede came towards her, saying "Give me… The Shikon No Tama!"_

_Kaede looked at her, amazed. "The… The… Shikon No Tama? You are carrying it?"_

_Kagome was brought back to her senses, and shrugged. "I don't know." Kagome knew that the demon was targeting her – she HAD to get out of there, before all of the villagers… before they all died because of her._

"_Nothing is working!" one of the villagers next to her said._

"_We must lead it back to the dry old well!" Kaede replied._

"_Dry well?" Kagome asked._

"_It is in Inuyasha's Forest." Kaede said. Kagome realized THAT was the well she came out of!_

"_Which way is it?" she asked._

_Kaede pointed to the East, where a bright light was coming from the trees. "Where that light is, OK!" Kagome said, racing off to the forest, Mistress Centipede following her.._

_Kaede was surprised. "What did she just say? In that evil forest, normal people cannot see it… Did she just say she could?"_

_Tied to the Goshinboku still, Inuyasha woke up. "I can smell her… I can smell the woman who killed me. She's coming closer!" he hissed angrily._

_Kagome was worried. "I'm going to be saved somehow… right?" she muttered to herself as she ran._

"_Give me the Shikon No Tama!" Mistress Centipede shrieked, diving at Kagome._

"_But… But I don't HAVE it!" she cried, throwing herself to the ground._

"_Feh. What are you doing, wasting your time with that centipede opponent of yours?" a voice asked._

_Looking up, Kagome saw it was the boy tied to the tree, awake now. "You… You are…" Kagome said._

"_Settle this with a single blow, Kikyou… Like when you killed me," he said, sneering down at her._

"_Kikyou?" Kagome asked, annoyed now. "What are you TALKING about? My name is -"_

"_It comes." He said, cutting her off. Looking up, Kagome was nearly swept up by Mistress Centipede, but the villagers managed to attack her first, hitting the fleshy part of her body. On the ground now, Kagome sighed in relief. "Sa… Saved." She muttered._

"_Heh, I'm disappointed in you Kikyou." Inuyasha said, smirking at Kagome like he was superior to her._

_A vein popped out on Kagome's forehead – she was seriously getting ticked. "Why you…" she said. "Listen here! You are mistaking me for someone else. I am NOT this Kikyou person!"_

"_Keh, go stuff it! No other girl smells this disgusting except…" Inuyasha yelled back, and then stopped, sniffing her again. "Kikyou… You're not her…" he said, his eyes a bit wide._

"_Get it now? My name is Kagome! Ka-go-me!" Kagome said to him angrily._

"_Kikyou is far more intelligent looking… And beautiful." Inuyasha stated simply, looking away. Kagome had an 'EXCUSE me?' type look on her face. After all, that was rude._

_Suddenly, Mistress Centipede grabbed Kagome, who in turn grabbed Inuyasha's hair to be kept from being taken. "Let. Me. Go!" she said._

"_OW OW OW OW!" Inuyasha said. "Leggo!"_

"_Kaede-sama…" one of the villagers said. "Inuyasha is…"_

_Kaede saw Inuyasha and, once again, was surprised. At this rate, the poor woman was going to have a heart attack! "Inuyasha has awoken? That seal ought to have remained unbroken for eternity… So how…?" she wondered aloud._

"_This body… is troublesome… I shall devour you whole… Shikon No Tama and all!" Mistress Centipede said. Inuyasha was surprised now. "Shikon No Tama?" he asked, looking at Kagome._

"_Stop it!" Kagome said, lashing out with one hand. Mistress Centipede's arms fell off, like one did earlier when Kagome broke away in the well. Woah… How did I do that? Kagome wondered. Now Centipede was pretty pissed. "Damn bitch!" she screeched, attack Kagome and biting into her side. Some of the villagers gasped._

_When Mistress Centipede bit into Kagome's side… she also took the Shikon No Tama._

_That was bad. Especially because the Shikon… would give Mistress more power than she already had._

"_I knew she had the Shikon…" she said, heading for the jewel on the ground._

"_That jewel is MINE!" Inuyasha said. "Hand it over!"_

_Kagome, who was right next to it, looked up at him confusedly. Before she could comply, however, Mistress Centipede wrapped her insect body around Kagome, restraining her. Winding her tail around the tree, Kagome ended up pressed against Inuyasha._

"_Heheheh. I've heard that some hanyou brat called Inuyasha or whatever was after the Shikon No Tama… Is that you?" she asked, snickering._

_Hanyou? What is this guy? Kagome asked herself._

"_Don't underestimate me, Mistress Centipede." Inuyasha replied, smirking. "When I fight seriously, a bitch like you is just small-fry."_

"_You've had that big attitude since earlier, but…" Kagome cut in. "Are you strong?"_

"_Can't move, can you?" Mistress Centipede asked snidely. "It looks as though your power is being sealed, isn't it? You just stay there and watch."_

_As she took the Shikon No Tama and ate it, Inuyasha said "Oh, crap!" After all, he DID claim it was HIS jewel, did he not? And the woman ATE it! Mistress Centipede's arms came back to her body, joining again like glue. Then, the transformation happened. "Oi. This arrow… Can you pull it out?" Inuyasha asked Kagome._

_She had a questioning look on her face, and started reaching for it, when Kaede's voice rang out, saying "You must not pull it out! That arrow is Inuyasha's seal! He must not be freed!"_

"_You half asleep, old hag? You WANT to become Centipede bait?" he argued. "If that thing completely absorbs the jewel, it's over! How about it girl? Do you want to die here with me?"_

"_I don't know what's going on… but… I don't want to die!" Kagome said to herself. Louder, as she gripped the arrow and started pulling it out, she added "Revive, Inuyasha!"_

_Inuyasha broke free after she pulled out the arrow, and landed on the ground to face the demon._

"_You brat…" Mistress said._

"_Come and get it, hag." Inuyasha smirked back. Using his Sankon Testusou move, he ripped the insect apart, grinning victoriously. But while the pieces of flesh were still moving, Kaede told her to look for a glowing piece of it, because that was where the Shikon No Tama would be, and if they didn't take it out, she would just endlessly regenerate. Looking around, she spotted the piece, and ran over to it, sticking her hand in, shuddering in disgust, and pulled it out. "It's only something that makes youkai stronger…" she said to herself, looking at the jewel in her hands._

"_That's right, and if you don't want to suffer by my claws, then hand it over to me now." Inuyasha said, standing before her, holding out his hand for the jewel. After a few minutes of him trying to kill her for it and Kagome dodging, Kaede suddenly threw a bead necklace onto Inuyasha._

"_Kagome, say the subduing word! Any word will do, anything to quiet Inuyasha!" she yelled. Kagome panicked, and in a rush, yelled a single word._

"_OSUWARI!"_

~~~End Flashback~~~

Kagome smiled weakly to herself. He'd deserved it that time! The way that jerk acted, honestly! That was what he got for getting at snotty at her just because she looked and smelled (apparently) like some dead girl she hadn't known EVER.

Thinking back to when she first met everyone, she began smiling at the memories. Sitting Inuyasha for being mean to Shippou and forcing him to help defeat the Thunder Brothers… Miroku's ridiculous proposal of her bearing him a child after KIDNAPPING her… Finding Sango and helping her get better from her wounds in her own village, where everyone was dead except for her… Thinking back, she'd had so many good times, ones that were so precious to her now that she couldn't see the others… If only she'd been able to tell them all that…

She could feel the tears running now. Her mind began to wander to when she'd first met others, like Kouga and his wolf tribe, Ayame, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken… Even when she got to know Kikyou some, that time Kagome healed her because of her fight with Naraku...

She missed everyone back in the Feudal Era.

Well, okay. She SO did NOT miss Naraku, he was such a jackass, and Sesshomaru had never been one she particularly liked either, but still.

She even remembered Jinenji, and Hojo's ancestor, Akitoki. And Myouga, and Totosai! Now, there was an odd one!

Seriously, the old youkai had a three-eyed ox! Definitely weird.

Kagome sat up, looking at the osuwari beads in her hand.

_Should I?_

She wondered. She was thinking about putting them on. Just a sort of little reminder to herself, she guessed.

Something to hold onto the memory of Inuyasha.

She shook her head, putting down the beads on her desk and started to work on her homework.

"Kagome! There's someone here to see you!" Her mother called, ten minutes into her trigonometry problems.

"Coming," she replied, sighing as she set her pencil down and wondered who it was. Walking downstairs, she saw Kouga looking around her living room curiously, and her mother was sitting opposite of him, chatting after she served some tea.

Kagome nearly fell in surprise, not expecting the wolf demon of all people. Her mother noticed her standing there and got up, walking over. "Ah, there you are! I was just talking to him for a bit dear," she said. Lowering her voice, she added in a whisper "He's quite handsome-looking, Kagome. I think you should hold onto this one!"

Kagome's eye twitched. "Kaa-san… Please, don't ever say something like that to me again," she whispered back, sounding slightly exasperated. She took the spot her mother had vacated across from Kouga, and carefully watched her mother leave the room.

"So, Kouga. May I ask what you're doing at my _house_?" she asked, putting a hand to her forehead, like one would when they had a migraine. She could just feel that five minutes into the conversation with him, she was going to have one. Might as well prepare early.

"I came to see if you were alright. I mean, yesterday you were crying. Is that so wrong?" Kouga replied, taking a drink of his tea. If she really wanted him to leave… he would. He wouldn't want to leave, of course. He still loved Kagome – he'd certainly never forgotten her. Kouga would definitely at least try to make Kagome see that. He loved her – always had and always would.

"…" Kagome was silent at first. Why did he go through the trouble? She knew that back in the Feudal Era, he'd always said he'd loved her, and stuff, but she'd never really thought he'd meant it. She'd kind of thought it was just his little joke to get on Inuyasha's nerves. "No, it isn't," she said at last.

Her mother suddenly walked in, carrying a tray and smiling brightly, clearly not having heard what they were just talking about. She set it down in front of them, some sweets littering a plate on it, and a cup of tea for Kagome, as well as the teapot to refill it. "I just thought that you two might enjoy some snacks and some more tea." She said.

Kagome sweatdropped at her mothers cheeriness. "Thank you, kaa-san," she said. Her mother left, leaving them alone again.

"Uh… Is your mother usually this… cheery?" Kouga asked, sniffing at one of the sweets curiously.

"Yeah, pretty much. And don't worry about the snacks, it's not like they're poisonous." Kagome told him, taking one of the Pockies herself and taking a bite.

Kouga took an experimental nibble at the taiyaki, finding it to be chocolate flavored. "Huh, a chocolate fish," he said.

Kagome giggled a bit. "You've lived in modern-day Japan for this long, and haven't had taiyaki yet?"

"No, I haven't. I've never noticed it around. In fact, I haven't always been in Japan, thank you very much. I've been to other places too." Kouga replied, sounding like a sulking child now.

Kagome shook her head. "Trust me, taiyaki isn't the only good food around here in Japan that's just a snack. You know, I should drag you out with me and my friends next time we're just going and wandering out and about," she declared. "You can consider it payback for going through the trouble of helping me out yesterday."

"Payback? Good or bad, Kagome?" Kouga asked. "If it's revenge, count me out! You're scary when you're angry."

"Hey!" Kagome replied, crossing her arms and pouting. "That's not fair! Why would I take revenge for you helping me out?" She knew he was joking, but she simply wanted to tease him a little, help get her mind off of… other things.

They talked some more, for about fifteen minutes, when Souta walked in the door and saw Kouga. "Who's he?" he asked, pointing to Kouga, a questioning look on his face as he looked at Kagome.

"It's rude to point, Souta," she replied, taking a drink of tea. Souta rolled his eyes exasperatedly and stopped pointing.

"You're not answering my question. Is there are reason? Like something kaa-san and jii-san should know about?" Souta asked, a very suggestive tone in his voice. He had an evil grin on his face, and about five seconds later it was covered by a pillow.

"Baka." Kagome said, having thrown the pillow in his face. "This is Kouga, and no, it's NOT that way." Even though she sounded totally calm, there was still a faint pink blush on her cheeks as she took another drink from her cup. Kouga had become oddly interested in the snacks on the plate, as if he was deaf to Souta.

Souta smirked. "Hah! I knew it!" he jeered, running out of the room before Kagome had the chance to throw another pillow at him or something.

"Ignore Souta, he's just my annoying and soon-to-be-dead little brother." Kagome said, clearly angry. "Excuse me for about ten minutes."

Kouga gave a weak laugh and sweatdropped as Kagome left. "I swear she's scary when she's angry," he muttered to himself.

Kagome returned down the stairs calmly, and Kouga wondered what happened to the poor kid.

"Well, anyways, I gotta go. Have some stuff I need to do," he said, standing up. It was the truth, honestly. He did have stuff he needed to do… just not for a little while yet.

Kagome nodded. "Okay, see you around, Kouga," she replied. She started picking up the cups and the tray, taking them to the kitchen.

Kouga walked out the door, glad that she didn't suspect anything. He seriously felt sorry for Souta – the poor kid had to live with her. He loved Kagome, sure.

But he swore to Kami-sama, she was scary when she was angry!

* * *

**Me: Hey there! Tell me what you think! I couldn't remember most of what happened when Kagome first met Inuyasha, so I basically went and re-read the first chapter or two of Inuyasha manga. =P. All so you guys could have a new, long chapter! So much work... Urgh... -_-'.**

**Kagome: You know, no one probably CARES that you went through so much work.**

**Me: You're so mean... *sniff***

**Kouga: No, she's just stating a fact. Kagome's too sweet to be mean... unless she feels like being mean.**

**Me: Okay, you know what? Both of you just shut up! Or... or... Or I'll never make a fanfic where you two get together again! D=.**

**Kouga: Nuuu! Kagome is mine! MINE, YA HEAR?**

**Kagome: *punches Kouga in the arm* Stop acting like you own me, or next time you try anything with me, it'll be your face.**

**Me: *claps* I'd do the same. :D. Anyways, review, please! I spent, like, at least five hours typing this up for you! Probably more like eight! So, like I said, review, and you may get a faster update next time. *winkwink nudgenudge*  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys! 8D. Okay, a few notes - I'm at Pennsic, though I'm staying in a hotel, so I won't be here for most of the day to work on the story. I like to play on the comp, too, I won't be constantly working. So, don't expect a super fast update or anything... OK? 83. I don't know why, but I will admit I'm feeling a need to work on fics right now, in the hotel. When I leave Pennsic, we'll be moving, so I likely won't be able to get on the comp. But that's not until at LEAST the 13th of this month. ^^. I should have chap 7 out by then.  
**

**And OH! Shippou-kun~! Do the disclaimer, please? Pretty please? *holds hands in prayer form, bowing head***

**Shippou: Fine. DISCLAIMER: Cassie doesn't own anything of Inuyasha, just this plot. Lawyers can't sue, 'cause she's giving credit to Rumiko Takahashi, and she's not using this fanfiction for money/gain or anything.  
**

**Me: Thanks! 8D. Anyways, this chapter is rather short. Sorry! It's 1,227 words, without these author notes.  
**

* * *

In the Present Forever

Chapter Six

Kagome ran the brush through her hair in a hurry, knowing she was late. Running down the stairs, she grabbed a piece of toast and put it in her mouth, giving a muffled "Thanks! Be back later!" to her mother, rushing out the front door and hopping onto her bike. Five minutes later, she ran back inside, grabbing her cell phone off the living room table, and ran back out again.

She was late for school, like usual.

Pedaling furiously, she got to the school, locked up her bike, changed her shoes, and barely made it inside the classroom before the bell… and the teacher. Thank Kami-sama for traffic...

Sitting in her seat, her teacher gave a warm smile across the classroom, and cleared her throat, instantly silencing everyone. "Alright, class… We have a new student, today." Sensei said. Raising her voice, she looked at the door and called "Come in!"

Kagome, her head on the desk, looked up as the door slid open, and there was an instant, collective gasp from all the other girls in the class.

And Kagome instantly hurt her chin as her jaw dropped, hitting the desk. "Itai!" she whispered, sitting up straight and rubbing her chin, which was slightly red from hitting the desk so hard.

"This, class, is Kitsune Shippou," the teacher announced, a smile on her face.

It was all Kagome could do to not scream his name and asking what the hell he was doing there.

The boy was looking around, smiling mischievously as he clearly enjoyed all the attention from the girls, and was drinking up the jealousy from most of the boys. His auburn hair may have been long enough to put into a high-ponytail and still have it reach the base of his neck, but the girls were all drooling over him. _Kami-sama…_ Kagome though, her eye twitching at his smirk. _He's become just like Miroku, hasn't he? Miroku always had the same look around pretty women! Ooohhhh, I swear, if I saw Miroku, I'd have to slap him for corrupting my poor little Shippou!_

Kagome felt like banging her head on her desk, but refrained. Wouldn't be wise to give herself a concussion. No, not at all smart.

Kagome decided on a nice, simple, and hopefully non-idea-giving plot to talk to Shippou.

She did NOT want anybody thinking that she was hitting on the new kid _already_.

She'd corner him at lunch and ask him. Maybe after school, if she could find him before he left.

"Ah, I see a spot for you, right over there next to Kagome!" The teacher said, smiling brightly. Kami-sama, was EVERYONE but the boys and Kagome a sucker for Shippou's emerald eyes? "Kagome, rai-"

"It's OK, I see where you mean." Shippou said, smiling appreciatively. He walked over to Kagome's side of the classroom, and sat down right behind her, giving her a fox-like grin and a wink.

Kagome could feel the glares of every girl in the class on her, except for Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. Her only three friends. Though she COULD still tell they were slightly jealous at the fact that he had winked at her.

She again had to resist from smashing her own head in with the desk.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Later on, at lunch, Kagome quickly found Shippou and glared murderously at him. "Shippou," she said simply through gritted teeth, sitting across the table from him and crossing her arms. "WHY. The. HELL. Are. You. HERE?"

Shippou smirked, innocently folding his hands together and resting his chin on them, still eye-level with Kagome. "Because, Kagome, I have every right to learn at a school just like you and everyone else here."

"Liar. You're plotting something with Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku, aren't you?" Kagome said, narrowing her eyes at him. Yeah, she was pissed. He had managed, in ONE DAY – scratch that, a few MINUTES – to make her the enemy of all but three other girls in the class.

"We're not plotting anything, Kagome." Shippou replied, giving a Cheshire Cat-esque grin. Changing the subject quickly, he added "Oh, by the way, Kouga wanted me to pass on a message to you."

Luckily for Shippou, the distraction worked. "Oh really? What does he want?"

"He says you may be needi-" Shippou was cut off by the bell, signaling the end of lunch. Hurrying off, books in hand, he shouted back to her "I'll tell you tomorrow!"

Kagome rushed to her own class, despite being curious about Kouga's message, having a different one from Shippou that period.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome separated from Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi after school, heading straight home so quickly do some homework, change, and go to work. Sighing, she grabbed her backpack, rummaging around in it as she walked, looking for the paper she wrote her assignments on, deciding to work on the hardest thing first, then progress to the easier stuff, maybe even do some of the easiest in the morning real quick.

When she got home, she sat at her desk and tried to do some of the trigonometry, only managing to get a few of the problems done. She changed into her work uniform and started out the door, humming a random song under her breath. Stopping for a moment, she looked back and called out, "Kaa-san! I'll be back later! I'm going to work! Bye~!" She skipped out the door, deciding to walk instead of ride her bike. After all, it was such a nice day!

After work – luckily not seeing Shippou or his partners-in-crime at all – Kagome stretched her arms out and headed out the door, collecting her share of tips from the customers for the day, having split it all evenly with the others, like usual. Walking down the alleys and streets to her shrine and house, she decided to sing "The Riddler Who Can't Solve Riddles". She loved the song, it was confusing if you thought too hard about it, but all the same, it was a good song. With no one around, she sang it aloud, a happy smile on her face and she almost skipped along to her house. "Sahani wa daare? Kokuyo ko-"

Suddenly, she felt a cloth pressed over her mouth and nose, and she started feeling dizzy and tired. Collapsing, she noted she was in someone's arms just as she faded into black unconsciousness.

"Hm. So, you're the Shikon no Tama miko? Ha, and here I thought you'd be somewhat powerful. A more powerful miko or houshi would at least have been able to resist the chloroform for a bit. You're like a newborn kitten, absolutely harmless," a male voice said, laughing. With no one else around, he took Kagome from the empty street.

* * *

**Hello? Is anyone going to review after that?**

**I'M SORRY! THIS IS A PLOT BUNNY I HAD IN MIND THE WHOLE TIME!**

**Don't hurt me? /._.\**

**Anyways, the reason it's so short is because, originally, this was around 800 words, because she got kidnapped right after school, and I didn't want to make such a huge climax and then end the thing with a dull falling action part. ;_;. I changed it so it was at least 1,000, OK? Review to tell me what ya think! Flames will be ignored, because they're just pointless and stupid, ya don't like it, don't read it! CC & comments about what you liked/loved/rather disliked are loved! Reviews just saying "update soon plz!" or something. are rather discouraging... -_-'. It's like you don't love me enough to point out specific things you think are flawed/are awesome. ;_;.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello?**

**OK, I know you guys are ready to kill me... but please don't! I got grounded, so I am taking a HUGE risk by being on the comp right now. Be happy that I updated! DX. Just don't kill me. ;~;.**

**Anyways, I finally updated, so yeah. W/O AU's, fic is 1,525 words by FF's count. 8P. Be happy, damn it. My current in the making char, a guy who's gonna be a war vet, will do disclaimer for me.**

**Johnathan: Hey, if I do, what do I get in return, girl? ..**

**Me: I'll work on your character some more to make you less of a sexist pig.**

**Jonathan: ... Right. Whatever. DISCLAIMER: Cassie does not own even remotely, no matter how much she wants to, any part of Inuyasha. She only owns the plot and OC's.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Kagome awoke to find herself in a cage. "W-where am I?" she asked. Her mouth felt dry and tasted funny. She looked around. There was only one other thing in the cage apart from Kagome – a simple blue cotton blanket that had been carelessly draped over her. The cage was rather short, high enough to where she could sit up, but not stand, and long enough for her to lay down and have room leftover. The area outside the cage, from what she could see, looked like some kind of empty, old warehouse. "Hello?" she called out.

She heard someone laughing and jumped when she heard the voice come from behind her. "I see you're finally awake… About time…. Now, where is the Shikon No Tama?" The voice was relatively deep and Kagome turned around to see him.

He was somewhat tall and human looking, but he had razor sharp claws and fangs. "Who are you?" Kagome asked.

The demon laughed. "Since you asked, I suppose I'll tell you… I am Daniel," he said. He had light brown skin and short, spiky blue hair. Kagome could barely spot a long matching blue tail behind him. She glared up at him ruefully.

She chose to lie. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

Daniel narrowed his eyes and watched her shrink under his gaze. "You know full well what I'm talking about, miko. _Tell me where the Shikon Jewel is!_"

Kagome's jaw clenched. "It's gone. When a wish was made on it, the jewel disappeared."

"Rubbish." Daniel snapped. He crossed his arms and his tail flicked side to side angrily. "You have the scent of very powerful magic around you… The kind of magic that could only come from the Shikon No Tama!"

Kagome glared. "How dare you contradict me! I'm the one who made the wish, and right after that, the jewel disappeared!" she said furiously. Daniel seethed with anger.

"You're jumping on my last nerve, miko… I'll give you one more chance in this interrogation… _Tell me where the jewel is_."

Kagome glared at him. "There is no jewel," she replied.

The next thing she knew, he had opened the cage and struck her across the cheek. She felt the sting and placed a hand to her cheek, feeling the now red skin. Her mouth was open in an 'o' shape, and Daniel sneered at her. "I warned you," he said as he closed it again, so she didn't try to escape. He took a piece of cloth out of his pocket as well as a bottle, opening the bottle and quickly wetting the cloth. Kagome backed away from him as far as she could in the cage and squirmed as his arm easily reached in through the bars, pressing the cloth against her nose and mouth. Kagome's body went limp and she fell unconscious again.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kouga snarled in anger. "Kagome's missing!" he said. Shippou groaned as Hakkaku and Ginta looked scared. The one woman Kouga felt anything for was missing – they'd likely be suffering his wrath if he didn't find her alive, if at all.

"I'm sorry, Kouga… It's my fault. I never got the chance to warn her like you'd wanted me to. If she'd known, she might have not gotten kidnapped… After all, that's the only way she'd have gone missing, if she was kidnapped."

"No, even if she had known, she'd probably still have gotten snatched. It's just the way Kagome is." Kouga said, shaking his head. They were in an alleyway, the only other life near them being some mice feeding off the garbage. Having their current conversation in front of humans would be unwise, after all.

Ginta dared to speak up. "We know Kagome works at that café… If she actually went to work last night, we might be able to follow her scent to where she's being held, since it should still be fresh enough to follow…" He sounded somewhat hopeful that his plan would be acceptable.

Kouga looked at Ginta for a moment. "You know, Ginta… That might actually work… Come on, guys! Let's go!"

"Wait!" Shippou said. "You guys, how on Earth are we going to follow her scent without attracting unwanted attention? I mean, come on! Crawling around on all fours and sniffing the ground will seem pretty weird!"

Kouga stopped in his tracks, already having started to head out the alleyway. "You're right… We'll need an illusion to make one of us look like a dog to the humans," he admitted. "And I will be the one with the illusion."

Shippou nodded. "I figured you'd say that. Now come on, we need to set the illusion up. Let's go to my house – I'm allowed to have pets, so if anyone asks about you, I can just say I decided to get a dog."

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kouga growled. "I'm barely picking up her scent." To any humans, he looked like a simple bloodhound, a perfect breed for tracking. Anything he spoke seemed like a bark or growl to any outsiders, too. Only Ginta, Hakkaku, and Shippou could understand him.

"We figured that would happen, it's been awhile since she disappeared." Shippou said quietly.

Kouga nodded and started walking forward, carefully keeping his nose to the ground so he didn't lose the scent. "Come on… this way."

Outside of their group, quite a few people were wondering why the boy had a hunting dog in the middle of the city, sniffing at the ground.

I mean, how often do you see that?

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome woke up to find herself chained to the wall, her arms raised above her head. She could barely sit on the ground without having to stretch her arms or anything. She noticed that there were much shorter chains keeping her bound on her legs.

Daniel appeared in front of her again, holding a pocket knife. "You humans have such fragile, delicate skin, especially you women. I could simply press this blade against your wrist, and it would probably start to bleed." He sounded almost… fascinated with how the human body was, how fragile and breakable compared to demons – like it was a toy to him.

Kagome stood up and looked at him defiantly. "Go ahead and dare – you won't get away with trying to murder me, I can promise you that," she said. Her voice quivered the tiniest bit – she was scared, oh yes, she was. Who wouldn't be? But she had to have faith that Kouga and the others would be able to track her scent to here in time. But then again… _Who knows if it's rained since I've been locked up? What if my scent is gone, or he went through a river at some point taking me here and the scent was lost because of the water? _She stopped herself before the thoughts got out of hand. At the rate she was going, she'd give up before the boys had a chance to save her.

Daniel laughed. "Oh, dear me… Now who said anything about killing you, hm?" Daniel walked up close to her and put one sharp, clawed finger under her chin, a maniacal grin on his face. "I only want one thing…. And we've been over this, miko. You know full well what I want."

Kagome sighed. "And you don't listen too well, do you? The Shikon No Tama disappeared back in the Feudal Era when the wish to keep the humans and demons from fighting each other was made," she told him, explaining as one would to a child that Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny, isn't real.

Daniel's eyes narrowed and he pressed the blade of the knife gently in the palm of her hand. Any more pressure on it, and it would start slicing though her skin. "Stop lying, miko! You have the aura of something that could only belong to someone with the Jewel! I'll give you one more chance before I start slicing your body into pieces," he hissed at her.

"I'm not lying. Whatever aura you sense is obviously whacky, because the Shikon No Tama disa—ah!" Kagome cried out at the end. She saw the blood coming from her hand and struggled to keep from crying out anymore. If she showed weakness, she just might break.

Daniel smiled sadistically at her and walked away. "I suggest you get ready to spill the truth, miko. Otherwise, that pretty little face of yours is going to get sliced up." His voice was dangerously soft as he left.

Kagome gave a hiss of pain and screwed her eyes shut – she refused to let him get to her. She had to trust that they would find her. Kouga and the others. She had to believe it. If her hunch was right, she was going to need that hope to survive for long.

* * *

**Whee~! OK, was that a good chappie for you, folks? Please review, you know I love it when you do! It'll encourage me to update faster. ;).**

**And OK, I admit it... I'm tired of just asking you guys to review. I want at least 5 more reviews before I post the next chapter! Got it?**

**Thanks~. And yeah, I don't want to use that...**

**But it's really discouraging when you guys don't review. ;~;. The reason I don't allow anon reviews is because flamers like to not log in when insulting a story, and it gets real old real fast. T.T. You other writers who have that problem prolly know how I feel. ;).**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! I got five reviews~. Though I don't get why I haven't gotten more. ;~;. 63 people have looked at chap 7 alone.**

**I made a pretty dull chappie, though. DX. About the most interesting thing that happens is with Kags. ;~;.**

**Without these author notes, the chap it 1,193 words. So back off - it's a pretty long chap. Umms... Danny is doing the disclaimer again. :D.**

**Daniel: *glares* Don't. Call me. Danny.**

**Me: Just do the stupid disclaimer, or I'll make your hair bright, bubblegum pink next time you're in a story of mine.**

**Daniel: DISCLAIMER: Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just me and the plot. There. Now, no making my hair pink, got it?**

**Me: Only of you obey my every single command, buddy.**

**Daniel: ... I hate you.**

**Me: I love you too, Daniel. Now, people, you are free to read. ;D.**

* * *

In the Present Forever

Chapter Eight

Kagome's jaw was set as Daniel looked at her furiously. "I know you're hiding the Jewel somewhere on you, miko," said the demon. He had the knife out again, and Kagome could see that he had sharpened it. Lovely.

"I told you – if the Shikon No Tama is here, I don't know where it is. From what I know, it just disappeared in the Feudal Era after the wish," she replied monotonously. She couldn't count how many times she had told him essentially the same thing. It was getting old.

She bit her lip from the pain a few seconds later as the blood dripped from her wrist. "Beware, miko. At this rate, you'll die from blood loss." Daniel said maliciously, a sadistic smile plastered on his face.

Kagome glared up at him. "I've told you the truth. If the Shikon No Tama does still exist, I don't know where it is."

Daniel's smiling face turned into one full of rage and hate. "You will pay for your lies," he growled.

Kagome spent quite a while trying to keep from crying out in pain.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kouga sniffed at the ground uncertainly. "Damn… we waited too long! The trail's too faded – if we go in the right direction from here, it's because of luck." Kouga spat out.

They were currently in a park downtown, nearing the abandoned docks – not that they knew that. Shippou's shoulders slacked downwards in depression as his hands curled into fists. "Damn it…" he muttered. "Let's think – if we were kidnapping Kagome, where would we take her?"

"She'd be going to my place." Kouga snorted. He took off the necklace that was giving him the illusion of a dog and stuck it in his pocket.

Shippou rolled his eyes. "Yes, but I doubt she was kidnapped over lust, Kouga. And if you even tried, she'd slap you as hard as possible and that would probably leave a red mark for quite awhile. I think whoever it was… was after the Shikon No Tama." Luckily for them, the park was completely abandoned, so they could talk without worry of being overheard.

Kouga nodded. "Kagome _is_ the Shikon No Tama Miko – I'd bet that the jewel didn't disappear, like we'd all thought, but it went back inside her body, like before."

"That's just what I was thinking. So, let's pretend we're after the jewel. Where would we take her so that no one could see us trying to get it?" Shippou had the tone of a teacher explaining to a five year old that two plus two equals four.

Ginta spoke up almost immediately. "Somewhere private, or a place that no one goes anymore, like… like a… an abandoned factory, or something!" Shippou nodded.

"Now we just need to figure out where that abandoned factory or warehouse, maybe, is, and get to it before… something happens that we can't change," said the kitsune. The wolf demons nodded. "All right then, guys. We need to do research. Ginta, Hakkaku, since you guys don't have computers, go to the library and check newspaper articles and see if you find anything. If the newspapers have anything about abandoned places, it should either be noted in the obituaries, or on the front page. Kouga, you and I should check our computers at home. Gotta love the internet – about the most useful thing in the world, sometimes." Shippou smiled weakly at his last comment before he started walking off.

Kouga stopped him in a moment. "Hold on, there, Shippou. When and where should we meet back up after this?" he asked.

Shippou looked at his watch. "Hmm… Three hours, in front of that café."

Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku nodded. "See ya!" they chimed in unison, each heading to their assigned place.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Shippou stood, leaning against the wall of the café, as he waited for the others. He'd, at least, found something. He wasn't sure about the others, but he did. He saw Kouga appear, a grin on his face.

Shippou smirked – Kouga had obviously found something too. "Kouga, there you are. Ginta and Hakkaku still haven't shown up. You three have trouble keeping appointments, huh?" he teased. He was pretty confident about the place he'd found, and Shippou was not going to worry. He was positive he was right. He'd only found two places, but only one was pretty likely.

Kouga smirked back. "Yeah, well, I kind of live farther away from here than you. As for Ginta and Hakkaku… hell, they're just slow. In fact, there they are now." Kouga replied, pointing his finger in the opposite direction he had come from, and sure enough, the two wolf demons were running up to them, out of breath.

The two of them stopped running when they reached the wolf demon leader and the kitsune, bending over with their hands on their knees, panting heavily. "H-hey." Ginta said through his breathing. "W-we're… here."

Hakkaku started talking next. "We found… a good place… to search.…"

"Yeah… the docks…."

"It's near… that park we… were at earlier…."

"It was… abandoned… after an… accident…."

Kouga nodded. "That's the largest area, I'd bet. We should search there, first."

"No, we should search the most reasonable area first. The most reasonable, likely area." Shippou argued. "We'll just waste time by searching the docks, because if she's not there, we'll have probably needed an entire day to search, which would have been wasted there."

Kouga looked at the kitsune, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, but she might be at the docks. One of the warehouses there would be perfect to hide a kidnappee."

"Well, when you don't find Kagome, feel free to admit whenever that I was right, that we wasted time." Shippou replied.

Ginta panicked. "Hey, guys! Stop fighting! We're wasting more time here arguing that we could be using to make a plan, instead," he said, a pleading note in his voice.

Shippou shifted a bit in his stance and grumbled a "Fine."

Kouga nodded in agreement. "Alright. Let's go someplace no one will… overhear," he said, giving a look around the rather desolate street, maybe only a half dozen others there at the moment. It was getting late, after all, so most people had gone home. Shippou smiled weakly. "Let's go to my house – it's closest, and no one should be able to come eavesdrop."

Ginta and Hakkaku nodded in relief. The faster they could decide on a plan, the faster they could find Kagome… hopefully.

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**Alright, people! You know the drill! Review~! It makes me happy, AND I update faster. So nyah~. And I mean, come on! I got 63 of you visiting last chap alone! And literally - only five of you reviewed. Is it because I don't allow anonymous reviews? ;~;. Somebody tell me.**

**Oh, and flames will be ignored. Keep it to yourself, have a nice, toasty fire. X3. Roast marshmallows or something. Make smores. Just don't dump it on me, because it'll get put out from lack of attention. Will have been wasted. X3.**

**Anyways, review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**OK! Update time! Some thing happens in this chap, but I'm not telling you what. Course, you'll find out soon enough ANYWAYS, but... still. XD. I'm sorry, this is a very short chap. My shortest ever. 469 words. ;~;. It felt like so much more typing. =_=.**

**Anyways, Danny is doing disclaimer or his hair and tail will be turned bubblegum pink for you to all laugh at him. 83.**

**Daniel: *Glares* **_DISCLAIMER:_** Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just this plot and me. Lawyers can't sue, especially since she earns no profit whatsoever from this. Well, I supose they can, but... whatever. Go read.**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Nine

Kouga punched the wall in anger. "Damn it! No place that we've searched yet has given us any clues! And we still have to search the bay and that other old warehouse complex," he said.

Shippou was looking frustrated as well. "I know, Kouga. Calm down. You aren't the only worried one, you know." The four of them all looked like they'd been slightly deprived of sleep. "Come on. We should all get some sleep. Despite the fact that we still haven't found Kagome, we need to take care of ourselves, too. If we need to fight, it wouldn't be any good to be suffering from lack of sleep. We wouldn't even be able to keep our eyes open if we keep going."

Kouga's fists were so tight, his knuckles had turned white. He slowly released them, though. "You're right, Shippou…" he said, feeling defeated now. "Meet back up in about seven hours, I'd say?"

Shippou, Ginta, and Hakkaku nodded, all of them rather grateful he'd agreed.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome's arms and palms were completely covered in cuts at this point. She glared up determinedly at Daniel, who'd long since abandoned the knife in favor of his claws.

The lower half of Kagome's shirt had been torn apart already – her stomach was completely revealed at this point, though the top half of her shirt was still there, thankfully. "Miko," demanded the demon in a low voice. "Tell me where the Shikon No Tama is. Now."

"I. Don't. Know." Kagome insisted, rather weakly at this point. Daniel lashed out at her right side – the same spot where Mistress Centipede had bitten her so long ago. His claws went in deep, too, and even pulled a chunk out of Kagome like the bug had before.

His eyes widened a fraction as he spotted a dull flash of pink amongst the red, and he immediately grabbed at it, paying no attention to Kagome's scream of agony when he ripped out her flesh.

He didn't care anymore. He had what he wanted.

He pulled the jewel from the raw meat and grinned, his fingers now covered in blood, like the Shikon No Tama. "Well, well, well, miko. It seems you may have just been telling the truth. After all, there was no way you could have put this in your body." Daniel laughed while Kagome whimpered from the pain. She hadn't been in so much physical pain since her birthday that year.

Daniel stopped laughed and looked the Jewel over, wiping the blood off some, and frowned. "Hold on…" His frown suddenly became a scowl, his eyes narrowed angrily, and he glared at Kagome.

"Why is there no power coming from the jewel, you wench?"

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**Whee~! There~. Whaddya think? Review, please, and I'll update the next chap with a hopefully epic fight scene in it quicker~! I apparently do good fight scenes... XD. Anyways~. Reviews make me happy, Anons can now review. ;). Happy authors = updated quicker fics. So review and make me happy! 8D.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Me: I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY! I meant to update this last week, but my rents were off from work, so I couldn't sneak on, and then this week my internet wasn't working... Currently using my mom's comp because I need it for HW, and took oppurtunity to update. Chap is 1,011 words, w/o au notes. Anyways - Daniel, disclaimer!**

**Daniel: DISCLAIMER: Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just me and this plot.**

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Chapter Ten

It felt, to Kagome, like it had been days. Daniel had carelessly bandaged her – only to keep her alive long enough to where he could get the information he wanted. They were incredibly tight, he hadn't given an ounce of thought to her comfort.

Although it wasn't like he had in the first place, so there wasn't much difference.

He had left, for a little while. He said he'd be back in maybe an hour. Kagome had tried to sleep, but it was fitful and light. Her throat was parched, and her stomach was growling. At this rate, she was sure she was going to die from dehydration.

Not a comforting thought, though she was sure that he would start taking a little care of her while he tried to get the information he wanted.

Kagome shuddered – it was cold in the warehouse, and most of her skin had long since been revealed. Her sleeves had become relatively nonexistent, Daniel had torn the fabric covering her stomach, her skirt had always been short, and her socks were extremely thin, so they didn't help much.

Just then, Daniel walked in, holding a WcDonalds bag. He pulled out a simple four-piece thing of chicken nuggets, and set it down in front of her, unlocking her right hand only so she could eat. "Hurry up and eat, ningen. By the time I get back with some water, I expect you to be done," he said, turning around and heading back out quickly, stopping to grab something by the door that Kagome couldn't see.

It was easy enough to open the container with just one hand, and eat, but Kagome was a little suspicious that the food might be drugged… or poisoned, or something. At least he said he'd be back with some water.

A few moments later, he was back, and he gave her a half-full bottle of brownish water. Kagome didn't entertain the idea of drinking it well, but… water is water, after all, right? She got the cap off and drank it, shuddering in disgust at the taste. It was probably full of bacteria and such, too… Lovely. Kagome was positive she was going to get sick.

Then, for the next hour, she got grilled with more questions.

"I don't know, I tell you. Maybe it disappeared, or something, I just don't know!" Kagome said, tired of repeating herself and Daniel not believing her.

Daniel still didn't believe her. "Listen, miko. I suggest that, if you value your life," he hissed lowly, "You will tell me where the power in the jewel went."

Kagome would have rolled her eyes, but she honest-to-God was just too tired. "Please, you would have killed me ages ago if that threat were true. You've kept me alive up till now so you can get the info you want. You won't kill me until you have it, or until you believe that there is another source you can get it from, and therefore have no more use for me."

Daniel scowled. "Hmmph. That mutt was actually right about you," he said, standing up straight and walking away.

Kagome froze, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "What?" she asked in a whisper, hardly believing what she had heard come out of his mouth.

Daniel's scowl turned into a smirk. "Yeah, your little ex-boyfriend. He told me all about you when I hunted him down for the Shikon Jewel."

Kagome's hands clenched into fists angrily. "You…. It wasn't Sesshomaru, was it? It was you who killed him."

"Hm? Oh, no, I didn't kill him. I just… merely shall we say weakened him for his brother." Daniel was now enjoying this – oh, he wasn't just bringing back bad memories, breaking her heart, he was working on breaking _her_. And it was definitely working.

Kagome closed her eyes, unable to keep from imaging it in her head. "You… why? Inuyasha hadn't done anything to you!" she asked, attempting to keep from crying again.

"Because – I'd heard rumours that he, another demon, and three humans were the last ones in possession of the Shikon no Tama. By the time I came along, the humans were long dead…. Or so I'd thought. I never found the other demon – but I did find him. And I wanted information."

"Inuyasha would never have told you about me. Never…!" Kagome said, tears falling down her cheeks now.

Daniel was enjoying this more and more with each and every passing second. "Oh, but he did. First he started off apologizing about being a jackass to you when he thought you were some wench named Kikyo, and always acting like he didn't care. And he went on about how while you were in the future, he'd get angry, impatient, and come after you, and proceed to embarrass you in front of your friends with his hanyou habits. Not to mention, by the time I was through wheedling information out of him, he had to mention that you could never measure up to Kikyo's abilities."

That last comment pierced Kagome's heart like an arrow. The tears flowed freely and she tried to choke back a sob, and couldn't.

Kagome curled up as best she could in the chains. "Inuyasha… why?" she asked herself, feeling like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She began to feel numb, unaware now of even the pain in her side that came from moving.

Daniel now felt rather proud of himself. It had been awhile since he had mentally screwed with anyone's head. "Now," he said, almost purring, "Can you guess why he told me all this?"

Kagome sniffled, getting angry now. "You… you did something to Inuyasha. I know you did. That's why… it was all your fault! You… you… bastard!" she sobbed to him.

Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Wench," he said, raising a hand to hit her.

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**Well, didja like it? Be happy~, I finally updated. PLEASE review. It makes me happy! And I'll update again sooner. ;3. Just press that little button below me...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Uh... Hi... um... please don't kill me?**

**I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in awhile. DX. Been swamped with school, (why do I have to have Algebra 2 hw EVERY night?), and other stuff real-life related. DX. So yea. This is 1,293 words, according to word count, w/o ANs. So enjoy. Daniel is currently incapacitated, as I'm sure you are all delighted to hear (Why does everyone hate Danny? D=.), and Kagome can't speak as of right now, we'll have someone else do it! 8D.**

**Ginta: *blinks* Huh - me? Uh.. ok.. **DISCLAIMER: **Cassie doesn't own anything of Inuyasha, only this plot and her OC, Daniel.**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Eleven

Kagome had seen Daniel coming, and closed her eyes in anticipation of the hit. She wanted to die. Inuyasha had caused this. He had betrayed her. And in the end, he never really loved her.

That hurt her the most. It really did. More than the fact that he had told Daniel about her, and betrayed her. Worse than the betrayal.

Yet the blow didn't come. She opened her eyes and couldn't even speak, now.

Kouga stood in front of her, having grabbed Daniel's arms by the wrists to keep him from hitting Kagome.

"So…. You're the son of a bitch that took her," he growled at Daniel.

Daniel sneered lightly. "Yeah, I'm the one who took her. Got a problem, Balto?"

"I have a problem with you taking Kagome…. But sure as hell not about kicking your ass!" Kouga said, swinging a leg up towards Daniel's stomach, letting go of Daniel's wrists as his shin connected with the lizard-like demon's side, sending the demon towards the side because of the slight momentum and power.

Daniel quickly regained his balance and his smirk became a scowl. "Hmm… seems like hanging around the humans hasn't made you completely powerless…" he muttered. "You might be a good fight."

"I'll be more than a good fight. I'll be your death." Kouga snarled. "Now, less talking, more fighting!" He closed the small gap between him and Daniel, his fist pulled back as he used his momentum to give the punch a better effect, colliding easily with Daniel's cheek as he threw his arm out to hit.

Daniel staggered back and touched his cheek lightly. "Ow…" he murmured. He clenched his other hand into a fist and pulled his arm back, lashing out with a retaliation punch towards Kouga's stomach.

Kouga stepped back to avoid it, but wasn't quite quick enough and winced as it hit. He jumped up and back, drawing Daniel away from Kagome. "Come and get me, gecko," he said, licking his lips.

Daniel took the bait easily and chased after him, scowling. "Get back here, coward!" he shouted.

Shippou crept silently over to where Kagome was, pressing a finger to his lips as he dug for something in his jacket. He pulled out a hairpin and inserted it into the lock of the chains, and twisted it around carefully. He could see Kouga and Daniel fighting out of the corner of his eyes, a flurry of kicking and punching, dodges and blocks… it reminded him of the old days, almost. He smiled as he heard a click and Kagome's left hand was freed from the chains. "Keep fighting Kouga…" he muttered as he worked on the other lock.

Kagome was crying again, looking at Shippou with a kind of sad but happy look. She still couldn't find the ability to speak now. Shippou noticed her tears and was startled. "K-Kagome? What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, still working on her other arm.

Kagome smiled through the tears, and shook her head. He was worried about her, Kouga was currently fighting to protect her, and she was sure that Ginta and Hakkaku were around somewhere, probably waiting to be decoys or something if needed.

Shippou grimaced and sighed quietly. The other lock popped open and Kagome's arm came free. "Now to work on your legs…" he muttered, rolling his shoulders for a second. At least these weren't super-quality chains – Kagome wasn't strong enough to have broken them off, like Kouga would be able to, but they were sure as hell easy to pick, if not a little long compared to the real cheap ones. Ah well, what does it matter? At least he could pick them.

Kagome rubbed her sore wrists and looked over and Kouga and Daniel with a pained expression. Kouga already had a smudge of blood coming from his lips, there were scratches on his arms and his shirt had started to become ripped up. She couldn't see Daniel's face, but she figured that he must be worse off than Kouga. She could see a nice gash in his right arm that was still bleeding quite profusely.

Daniel leaped up and back a few feet and wiped some blood from his lip, breathing hard, and Kouga gave a smirk. "So, you realized you can't fight me?" he sneered. Daniel gave a weak laugh.

"Heh, you wish, Balto. I'm just getting started."

"Then why are you already out of breath?" Kouga asked, running towards Daniel quickly and leaping up, coming down to land on the other demon and kick him neatly in the chest, sending Daniel reeling back a few steps as he brought his arms up to fend off the attack. As Kouga was off balance still from the attack, Daniel shoved him off and threw a punch at Kouga's stomach, causing Kouga to cry out from the suddenness of the hit. He had been vulnerable that one second – it wouldn't happen again.

Kouga scowled and shook it off, grabbing Daniel's arm with one hand, and holding him there as he kicked him in the stomach, aiming a punch at Daniel's face at the same time.

Daniel used one hand and blocked the punch towards his face, but coughed heavily as Kouga's knee impacted his stomach. Kouga leaped up and back and looked over Daniel's shoulder for a second where Kagome and Shippou were, and saw that Shippou had unlocked all of Kagome's chains and was helping her get out. Kouga only needed to distract Daniel a few minutes longer… he smiled and became less tense, though he kept his muscles ready to defend against a sudden attack.

Kouga looked straight back at a panting Daniel, and rolled his neck, sighing as the bones in his neck cracked. "So then, you ready to finish this?" he asked. Both of them were a bit bloodied up, and Kouga was more than sure he was going to have bruises for a few weeks, but if he could get in just a few more hits… he could probably beat Daniel.

Daniel laughed breathlessly. "Heheh… you bet!" he snarled.

Kouga charged towards Daniel and tried an easy high-kick, causing him to go off balance as Daniel ducked and swept a leg under Kouga's and tripped him. "Hah, not so smart, are ya?" Daniel taunted as he kicked Kouga in the side angrily, sending him flying a few feet away. Kouga smacked into the wall and grunted as he hit the ground and attempted to get back up.

"I'm smarter than you." Kouga said, leaping up and running forward, too fast to see properly for anyone much slower than him. Daniel wasn't expecting the punch to his stomach and a rather cheap – but admittedly fair, considering what he did to Kagome – kick in his pelvis, and he fell to the ground, clutching his poor organ and gasping from the pain.

"You son of a bitch…" Daniel breathed, glaring up at Kouga. Kouga smirked.

"That's the way it works. Now where is the sacred jewel that you took from Kagome's body?" Kouga asked, rifling through Daniel's pockets until he found it. "Now… touch my woman again, and you're dead," he growled, leaving the lizard-demon on the ground with nothing seriously injured but his pride.

"Just you wait, Balto…" Daniel muttered harshly, alone now in the warehouse. "You'll get yours… and don't think that the miko and your kitsune friend will get away scott free, either. Don't assume that I didn't notice him. Because I did… I just hadn't cared at the time."

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Rawr! So, how do you like it? I plan on wrapping this up pretty soon, guys. Just FYI. I don't want this to extend over too long, I've already had times when I just lose interest and stop, then keep going because I know you all like it and would kill me if I didn't keep writing. So yea. Daniel will just... meh. Kouga has already proven able to beat his ass. XD. So yea. Review, please, it makes me happy (and more willing to work on this! 8D).


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey there, guys! Sorry about not updating for a month... I hate school. =.=. We just had our finals for the semester (I think I got A's or B's on most of them!), so we have a two day break before we go back and get our new schedules! *cheers* NO MORE MR. COOPER! And I hope my English 9, Algebra 2, and Spanish 2 teachers are changed. ^-^. Unfortunately, I apparently have Photo Digital One. *sigh*. I don't want to take that! ;~;. At least I can drop the Computer class, if my guidance counselor changes my schedule on time. Mr. Vaughn hasn't done jack shit really... I bet he's just too lazy.**

**Anyways! Enough of my ranting about high school! I'm sure there are some of you who are in college or are about to go to college, so yea. :P. This chappie is 2,120 WITHOUT author notes. ;D. Disclaimer by Sam, then enjoy the chap!**

**Samael: You're an idiot... I'm amazed you managed to get good scores on your PSAT. .. Can't believe you scored higher than 90% of Sophmores on writing skills... Anyways, the disclaimer... right... DISCLAIMER: Cassie doesn't own anything except for the plot, me, and Danny. Enjoy this crap now. (P.S. - don't hate me for this. =.=. Cassie made me appear because she was losing enthusiasm about this story.)**

**Me: HEY! Don't tell them that! DDDD====. Also: WARNING! FLUFF AT THE END THAT PROBABLY SUCKS! I can't write fluff man. ;~;. That scene was so hard to write without it sounding weird. DX.**

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**In the Present Forever**

**Chapter 12**

~~~One week later~~~

Daniel slammed his fist onto the desk, making it creak from the sheer, angry, force. "Why not?" he hissed.

"Because I just can't bail you out of every problem you have, little bro."

Daniel gave a pouting face to the other guy. "But you always have before. And besides, you're not busy, now are you?"

"Actually, I am. Unlike you, I don't have to spend all my time worrying about getting stronger 'cause I couldn't care less." Daniel's brother replied, shuffling some papers. "And you've probably just caused my desk to wear out its warranty right after I bought it…. I run this business, which is why I'm always wearing this ring, Dan, and you know that. I have to look human." He brought up his right hand, the middle finger wearing a silver ring and a stone that looked like an emerald, though the inside looked full of some type of liquid.

"I know, Sam, but I seriously need help. The guy completely kicked my ass, and I can't take another kick in the same place as before. But I want to know what that miko did with the power of the Shikon No Tama!" Daniel said.

Samael snorted with laughter. "You got kicked in the crotch? Nice," he smirked, dragging out the word with a teasing glint in his eyes. "And as for the Shikon Jewel, did she tell you what happened? Or did she try and did you just not listen, as usual?"

Daniel opened his mouth to speak, started to say something, then decided to change his mind and shut it.

"That's what I thought, Dan." Samael replied, yawning. "It's possible that someone made a wish on the jewel and it lost it's power. The legend does say if anyone makes a pure-hearted wish, it'll disappear from the world."

"If that was the case, then how come it came out of her body when the flesh on her side was ripped out?" he asked plaintively.

"Maybe she's really the reincarnation of that miko who used to guard the jewel in the Feudal Era, and had the jewel burned with her dead body. Which explains why it was in her." Sam replied with a bored look as he stood up and gathered some things into a briefcase, his jet black hair falling into his stormy grey eyes with a limp look, as if he'd been rather stressed lately and there just wasn't enough time to properly take care of his hair (such as brushing it out every day). "You never did pay attention to those stories our mother told us about humans. Especially ones about the Shikon No Tama."

"Sam, I seriously need help. I'm your brother. Blood is thicker than water," he asked, a pleading note in his voice, among the other usual tones.

"And why do you need help, Dan? To get revenge?" Samael replied flatly.

"No. I need to find out why the Shikon Jewel lost it's power. I don't understand it, a power that great can't just disappear into thin air! It HAD to have gone _somewhere_!"

"You're right." Sam told him. "It probably did go somewhere – and I'll bet I know where. You want to know, don't blame me if you get hurt even worse this time."

Daniel smiled at his brother. "Thanks, bro. I know where the miko lives, I'm pretty sure she's got something to do with it," he said, a hint of thankfulness now. He gave a rather dark smirk. "And don't worry – I don't plan on getting beat like that again."

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome was in the bath, resting in the nice, hot water. She winced as it seeped into her slightly open wounds, but got used to it in time. It felt good – no, great! – to be out of the hospital! After she had returned home, Kouga wrapping one arm around her waist to support her, bleeding, with her uniform torn apart and Kagome barely even conscious and looking like she hadn't eaten in days (which was truthful), her mother nearly had a heart attack and immediately had her driven to the hospital. The doctors asked again and again what happened to her, but Kagome made up a story that she didn't remember anything from when she clocked out of work, and the doctors finally gave up, after a psychiatrist told them that her body probably made her forget the experience because it was so traumatizing to her.

She had healed incredibly fast, enough to where the doctors finally let her go home, and Kagome was glad. Her mother had been at Kagome's bed almost twenty-four-seven, worrying herself about her daughter and what had happened. She hadn't told her mother the truth yet, but she was going to, tomorrow maybe.

Kagome didn't want to worry her mother any more, not until she got a good night of sleep at least. The woman already had to take care of Souta and her grandfather, with all of his ridiculous shenanigans. Not to mention the shrine still had to be taken care of all the time, between cleaning and trying to see if anyone had made donations to the shrine, etc. For now, though, she enjoyed herself, and was hoping that her mother was too. She felt so… dirty. It wasn't as though he had molested or raped her or anything, but still. Maybe it was from the hospital, with all the sick people. But she had considered a job in the hospital as something good to do with her life, especially since she had seen so much sickness and death in the Feudal Era. Her miko healing powers weren't much, but damn it, they worked well enough to help people!

After sitting in the bath, just relaxing, long enough to where the water got cold and her fingers were pruning, Kagome got out and dried herself off with the towel, and ducked into her room and got dressed into something nice and clean. "Aaahhh," she sighed. "I missed being in clean clothes~!" she said, burying her face into a shirt before putting it on. A nice pair of comfortable jeans and a pretty loose white tee was much better than a torn up skirt and shirt that had been worn for a few days!

She walked downstairs, frowning as she noticed the quiet. It was about an hour before dinnertime, and her mom was almost always getting ready to cook it about now… She walked into the living room and got a bad feeling, seeing that neither her grandpa or her little brother were there. She wandered around the whole house now, seeing no one, and then decided to check out the shrine. They still weren't there. Kagome was even more worried now – they wouldn't have left the entire shrine without telling her, unless she was asleep. She ran back into the house and into her room, planning to grab her bow and arrows, and stopped short as she opened the door. She paled, and her legs quivered uncertainly. Her bow was snapped in half, as well as her arrows, and a message written on her wall in what looked like… _blood_.

"If you want to make sure that your stupid ningen family lives," Kagome whispered to herself shakily, and she sank to the floor as she continued. "Come to the old decrepit church in the outskirts of town by midnight two days from now. And come alone, or first goes your little brother."

Kagome stared and felt the stinging heat behind her eyes, curling up into a fetal position and just sat there, crying.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kagome awoke maybe three hours after falling asleep, having cried for so long took a lot out of any girl. In addition, though she had one hell of a splitting headache. "This is my fault," she told herself while taking a couple of Aspirin. "I should have been able to sense the presence of demons! Or hear them kidnapping my family!" She ran out to the storage shed and searched through it – she distinctly remembered her grandfather had a bow in it someplace, an old-fashioned one, like hers. It didn't take long to find, she grabbed it, as well as a quiver full of arrows nearby, and ran out again, heading towards the God Tree. She needed something as a target to practice on, and right now, the God Tree seemed like a good idea.

She spent hours practicing her accuracy and the power she used in her arrows, reusing them over and over again until her hands were somewhat bloodied from pulling the string back over and over again.

She winced, feeling the sting and gave in to the pain. She pulled out the arrows from the tree again, putting them back into the quiver, and walked back to the house, deciding to quickly bandage her wounds, then sleep for a couple more hours.

After she got up, she changed the bandages, then it was back to practicing sacred arrows. She stopped only a few times, when her friend Yuka called to see what was up (who she told that she wasn't feeling well), to eat when she needed to, and change the bandages on her hands when they got too bloody. It was dark out already – she'd spent most of her time outside there…. She sighed, unable to really see anything anymore. "Why is it so dark…? It feels unnatural…" she whispered to herself. Kagome shook off the feeling and went into the house, deciding to make something to eat, since she didn't feel sleepy enough to go to bed at the moment.

She found herself on auto-pilot, making ohagi like she used to with her mom when she was younger… Measuring out all the white and sweet rice, the kinako, the bean paste… Kagome felt her eyes stinging, and it wasn't until she had already gotten everything out, measured it, and started to make them that she realized she'd begun making too many, as many as she had for the rest of her family before.

As she finished, the doorbell rang, and she washed her hands quickly before going to see who it was. "Hello?" she asked as she opened it.

"Hey, Ka—what's wrong?" Kouga asked, seeing her eyes red and slightly poofy from the crying. He put a hand on her shoulder and bent down a bit to be eye-level with her.

Kagome bit her lip hesitantly. "My… my family… someone took them," she sniffed, looking down at the ground now, feeling the same shame she did before for not noticing the demon aura or anything.

Kouga scowled. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

Kagome nodded. "They left a message in my room, it looks like… like blood," she told him. "I have to be there midnight tomorrow, and I have to go alone." She flashed him her bandaged, wet fingers. "That's why I've been practicing… and speaking of these, I need to change them now that I'm done making food." She grabbed the first aid box from a shelf and unwrapped her current bandages, taking the clean ones and rewrapping her fingers.

Kouga gave a low growl. "You shouldn't strain yourself Kagome, you know that. You just got out of the hospital!"

Kagome turned on him with a furious look. "Yea, well I don't care! My family is out there held by some asshole and it's probably my fault that they're probably hurt and in danger because I didn't sense a demonic aura or anything at the time!" she shouted at him, tears welling up.

Kouga's look softened and he hugged her as she started sobbing again. "It's OK Kagome… I'm sure they're fine. And if they're not, I'll come with you to kick the ass of the son of a bitch who hurt them. Come on, you should eat whatever you made. You need to eat if you plan on doing any fighting."

Kagome shook her head. "You can't come with me. The note… it said I had to come alone, or else they'd kill Souta first," she sniffed at him, and Kouga ran a hand comfortingly through her hair.

"Who said I was coming _with_ you?" He told her, smirking a bit. Kagome buried her face in his shirt and just continued crying. She knew it was pointless to argue with him – he was as stubborn as a mule sometimes.

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**Hey hey! Me again! 8D. You just need to press that little button right below me, the one that says Review. 8D. Reviews make me happy. Me happy mean next chap updated more quickly. ;D. Just fyi, ya know. I'll try to work on the next chap ASAP, but I want at least one review from someone first! I was so bored today as I updated this. ;~;. I seriously was. I'm itching to start on that DPPGZ fic I thought of, but I knew I should prolly update/finish this story first. BTW - this story will be ending in a chap or two. Maybe three. ;D.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi... I really feel bad about this chap. It's only 711 words by FF word count, and it's not even really helping the situation... *sigh***

**Though, I suppose you could say it helps their relationship... But I'm just kinda in a rut right now. Sorry guys. I'm just so obsessed with drawing lately. You can see my latest works on Deviant Art, account is AkeelaPyro. I will have some Inuyasha fanart up sometime... just not sure when.**

**Um, since this chap is so short, I'm going to say both this chap and next chap (Which I promise will make up for the lack of this one) are for my friend Forest, since she told off another reviewer who was complaining that they weren't sure this was even an Inu fanfic anymore. Thanks Forest~. She put her name as P though. XD. Uh... Shippou, disclaimer please~!**

**Shippou: *sigh* Fine. **_DISCLAIMER:_** Cassie doesn't own Inuyasha, just her OC's and the plot. And any fanart that she draws... if she ever does.**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Thirteen

After Kagome calmed down, she slowly ate the ohagi, giving some of them to Kouga to eat, and take with him to the others. She felt just numb all over, like her body was finally catching up with everything she'd done through the day. She was tired, too. She could hardly even taste what she was eating, and the silence between both of them was almost… creepy. She was too depressed to talk at this point, and Kouga just didn't know what to say. What could he say? How worried everyone was about her, especially him, when she had been kidnapped? How he was sure her family would be fine, how there was no way that they'd be harmed? That they would still be alive when she even got there…?

He didn't know what to say… But he figured he'd give it a shot anyways. "Kagome," Kouga started, going out on a limb about what to say. "Don't… Don't stay upset. Calm down. Think about it. When, where, what's going to happen…. We should make a plan, not just sit around and worry about what's going to happen."

Kagome's chocolate eyes darkened slightly, already bloodshot and tired looking. "I don't know, Kouga. My family was kidnapped, and if I show up with help they've threatened to kill Souta off first. Have you ever had a sibling, Kouga? A real one, one that is your _flesh and blood,_ one that is special to you even though they're a pain at times? Because if you've ever had a brother or sister younger than you, you know the feeling that only a big sister or brother has to protect the younger ones. I wouldn't be able to bear losing my little brother because I didn't so as I was told."

Kouga blinked. She didn't just sound depressed, she sounded kind of angry and guilty, too. "No," he told her. "I've never had a flesh-and-blood brother or sister. But I was the leader of the entire Eastern wolf tribe, and a lot of them considered me family because of it. I was their leader, they looked to me to not only protect them, but to lead them too. And do you know what happened, because I got careless and didn't make a plan before just charging on into battle? Most of them ended up dying. A lot lost trust in me over time after that and left. Eventually all I had left were Ginta and Hakkaku. They basically are my family now, and they really always have been." He was calm as he spoke – he wasn't going to provoke her, and honestly, he was trying to make her feel better, not worse.

Kagome felt like kicking herself. She was taking her guilt and frustration on Kouga, when he'd actually been through worse than she currently had. She looked down at the floor, defeated, and shook her head. "Sorry, Kouga… I'm just so… no, I guess I shouldn't make excuses. I'm guilty and angry at myself, and I'm taking it out on you," she sighed. "I think… I'm going to go to bed. Maybe tomorrow, Kouga. Just… not tonight."

Kouga nodded. "It'll be okay, Kagome. I'll see myself out, no worries. But I'll be back tomorrow morning, with Shippou, Ginta, and Hakkaku, and trust me, if you're not resting I will make sure you're resting after we come, or I'll have Ginta and Hakkaku find a way to get Ayame here. She's been dying to talk to you again, because after you disappeared she was pretty pissed because she had decided that she wasn't done fighting you for me yet. You need to rest all day tomorrow, got it? Or else," he instructed.

Kagome smiled weakly and nodded, thinking that his description sounded just like Ayame. She'd just get some rest, she didn't want to have to bother with Ayame tomorrow, trying to win Kouga's love. She walked with him to the door and immediately started turning out all the lights after he left, going into her room and flopping onto her bed, half-covering herself with the sheets and burying her face in the pillows as she cried herself to sleep.

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**So, whaddya think? I know, kinda forced and stuff, and honestly it doesn't help Kag's poor family at all... But we all know they'll be fine. In case any of you are secretly worrying about them. X3. Please review, it makes me happy! I want at least one review before I try to bother with the next chap. Forest, you don't count cause you can just tell me in chat. But, it'd be nice if you reviewed anyways. ;D. **

**I'm sorry, but I'm just so disappointed... Flames will be answered back in a bitchy way, CC is loved. Please don't just fave and alert me, please actually REVIEW. Happy author(esse)s mean faster updates, ya know!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi... It hasn't been an entire month since my last update, right? Paaahhhh. =.=. So tired. I stayed home from school today because I felt sick, and my dad said I felt warm, so yea. I think I may have caught something from my friend Brittnay - she was sick on Friday and... yea. =.=. Warning, this chap is a little religious (not really...) talks a slight bit about rape (doesn't go into detail) and yea... You should all recognize immediately who it is later. ^^. This chap is 1,749 words according to FF w/o AUs, somebody do disclaimer and I go sleep. =.=. Oh, and like I said last chap, this chappie for my friend Forest cause she told off a reviewer who was kind of being an ass.*lays down and goes to sleep***

**Kagome: O.o'. I'll do it... _DISCLAIMER:_ Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just this plot and the OC's.**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Fourteen

Kagome woke up the next morning with another killer headache, and immediately took some Tylenol again. She walked into the living room and sat in the chair, curling up into a fetal position. She heard a knock on the door and she got up, opening it to find Kouga and the others. She smiled weakly. He hadn't been kidding; Ginta and Hakkaku looked ready to go find most anyone. It looked like they even had something of Ayame's to go off of. Shippou pushed his way to the front and half-glomped, half-hugged her. "Kagome, are you okay?" he asked as he let go.

Kagome felt like she was being crushed as Shippou hugged her, and sighed in relief as he let go. "I'm fine, Shippou," she told him, smiling wider. They were really worried about her… "Come on, I just woke up a few minutes ago, you guys have good timing…." She shot Kouga an appreciative look, remembering how he happened to come right as Daniel had probably been about to tear out another chunk of her flesh and blocked his attack.

Kouga smiled back – he knew what she meant – and followed her in, already going over the plan he'd thought of the night before. As they all sat down, Kouga crossed his legs and started talking. "So. We need a plan, Kagome. I've already got an idea of what we should do."

Kagome sighed. "I know we need a plan… but what can we do?" she asked him.

Shippou frowned. "Wait, what do you mean by 'we need a plan'? A plan for what?"

Kagome blinked owlishly, then glared over at Kouga. "So you dragged the three of them here and didn't even tell them what was going ON, Kouga?" she asked furiously.

Kouga sweatdropped nervously. "I, uh… might've forgotten… to mention it…" he said, looking at the other three shiftily. Ginta and Hakkaku, as usual, just looked completely lost, just like Shippou did at the moment.

"Kouga! Urgh, I can't believe this… I thought you would have told them!"

"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking of that, I was busy trying to make a plan to _save_ them!"

"Woah woah woah. Ok, first, would SOMEBODY mind telling me what's going on, and what's this about saving people?" Shippou interrupted.

Kouga took the liberty of filling the others in on the situation while Kagome, again, curled herself up into a ball.

Shippou clenched his fists. "I'll bet it was the same asshole that kidnapped Kagome!" he growled.

Kouga nodded. "I'll bet he had help, though. I doubt that he would have been able to get here without Kagome recognizing his demon aura unless someone was covering it up for him."

Kagome sighed. "Just spill your plan, already, Kouga."

Kouga glanced at her with some concern, but did as he was told. "I figure that we should be sneaky getting there this time," he explained, telling them his plan. They argued at some points and had to make changes, but they eventually all agreed.

Kouga stood up and dusted imaginary dust off of his pants. "So, we'll carry out the plan tonight… we should all go get some rest. It's already noon….Everybody meet outside the café by ten tonight. Be ready, don't be late, and don't screw up the plan," he ordered. The others nodded, and everyone but Kagome proceeded to leave, slowly, promising to her that she would get her family back, safe and unharmed.

Kagome was the first one at the café – she was tense, and she was leaning against a wall as she waited for the others since she was a good twenty minutes early. She was carrying a large bag that had her bow and arrows – she didn't want to be seen walking around with them right now, it would be too suspicious and she could possibly get arrested for having weapons. It didn't take long for Shippou to arrive, then Kouga trailed by Ginta and Hakkaku.

As Kouga stepped up to the waiting Shippou and Kagome, he cleared his throat. "Kagome, Shippou… good, you're both here already. Come on, let's go someplace less public." Kagome frowned in confusion. "Kouga… I have to get going to the place now. We all know how long it'll take to get there," she said.

Kouga nodded. ""We'll talk on the way, and then we'll carry out the plan."

It wasn't long until they had reviewed the plan and were already headed to the church. After they were only a few blocks away, Kagome went off on her own to the church, in case the kidnapper would be watching out some window to make sure there was no one there with her. She was about a half hour early, and as she neared the street that the church was on, she stopped cold as she heard a familiar old woman's voice.

"Hm? Oh, my, I don't recognize you from around here, although you do make me think of someone I know, child." Kagome turned around to see the old woman and her eyes widened at the kind obaa-san.

The old woman blinked, then gave a wan smile. "Yes… I'm afraid I lost my eye in an accident, so I wear a patch."

Kagome realized she had been staring and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry… it's just that you look very much like… like someone I used to know. The eye patch really startled me when I saw it, I automatically thought of her."

The old woman smiled. "It is all right child. I am Kotoko. Who are you, and where are you going, if I may ask?"

Kagome smiled. She felt like she could trust this woman.

"I'm Kagome. I'm heading to the old church on the next street over."

Kotoko's eye opened widely and she gasped. "No, child! You cannot go in there! That place is cursed, I tell you, you would do best to stay away from it! It is no longer holy ground, not since what happened there…."

Kagome frowned. "I'm sorry, but… what happened?" she asked. She knew she had some time, by glancing at her watch. 11: 37 it read. She had plenty of time to hear the story.

Kotoko sighed. "I suppose one as young as you would not know…. After all, ever since the place was shut down they were determined to keep it a secret as to why. Come in, and I will tell you. The feeling out here is too ominous for me… I can feel trouble brewing in the air… the wind has stopped, after all, even in such a windy season here." She walked into a house right nearby, and Kagome followed her in cautiously. With Kotoko's warning about trouble… she shuddered and shook it off. No need to worry herself.

Kotoko had Kagome sit down in the living room and began to speak again. "That church… it truly once was holy ground, a place of worship for those of the Christian and Catholic faiths. The priest at the time of the accident was a good, kind-hearted man, but his spiritual power was low…. He discovered a demon, immune to any holy thing that could be pitted against it except for a strong sacred arrow, taking residence there, and yet that fool tried to banish it himself. His half eaten carcass was discovered a few days later, and the worshippers feared it was a sign that they were not faithful enough, from their God." Kotoko shook her head sadly and continued. "They found someone who took over as their priest, but he was not as kind-hearted as he led them to believe. He not only stole any money donated to the place, when he discovered the demon, he worshipped it, brought it sacrifices of local animals and such.

"And then one day, he was so bold as to kidnap a young girl, around your age she was, and give it to the demon. The girl wasn't eaten, like the first priest and the sacrificial animals. No, she had been raped over and over by the demon, and eventually died from the brute force and trauma. The demon had eventually left, after devouring the fake priest, so it was not caught and killed by someone with true holy power, but the church has long since been abandoned and is a festering place for the vile and evil-hearted, and especially demons. Many who go in have not come out, not alive at least." Kotoko finished and the glazed look in her eyes that had started left.

Kagome felt… horrible. She looked down, feeling sorry for the first priest and the girl, although hating the demon and fake priest. "So… you actually believe in demons?"

Kotoko nodded. "Of course. Before, I was like many others and hardly believed it, though I would swear I felt some evil presence like a demon's around some people. But after that incident… Oh yes, I believed. I knew from that moment, there was no human who could do that to another person."

Kagome stood up and gave Kotoko a small bow. "I'm sorry, Kotoko-san, but I have to go in there. I can't let the same thing happen to my family…."

Kotoko looked at Kagome with pity in her eyes. "All right, child. I hope, for your sake, that you know what you are doing. May good luck go with you, as well. Beware any falsehoods, child. That place is full of evil, malice, and depression. They will do anything to add another to their ranks of the miserable."

Kagome nodded, and looked at her watch again. 11:52 now. "Thank you for the warning, and letting me come in," she said, picking up her bag and walking towards the door.

Kotoko nodded. "Be careful, child," she murmured quietly as the door opened and shut again. "If anything intelligent is there… you will need all the luck you can still have. Your family is probably already doomed, even if nothing harms them. No one goes in that place and comes back out unchanged unless they are already evil… that is how they die. Their old personality dies and is replaced by a new corrupt one. Be careful, miko-child."

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***wakes up* So how'd you like it? *yawn* Urgh, I'm feeling sick again. e_e. I felt fine around noon 'til two-3, when I finished this chap, but now mom's home, cooking, and my stomach is hurting again. e_e. Review, it makes me happy, and I took ages with this chap and thinking up that story so tell me what you think. And I'd appreciate getting at least five reviews this chap, cause I still feel like crap. Again, reviews make me happy.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow... Ohs mais gods. *A*. I think this may be the LONGEST chap I've written! 2,955 words, guys, without ANs! Oh, please don't kill me for such a long time between updates. ;~;. Please. I know I've only taken like, a month. But... you know... at least it's a long chap! Um... I think you'll be happy with this chap. A little more fluff (I think it counts as fluff, anyways). I tried to update on the 21st, but I've been having trouble. Just found a way around the problem. Hope the staffies fix it soon! ****Sam, do the disclaimer!**

**Samael: Fine. T_T. _DISCLAIMER:_ Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just her OCs and the plot.**

**Me: Sorry if people are a little OOC this chap! Just FYI!**

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In the Present Forever

Chapter Fifteen

Kagome opened the door to the church uncertainly, and stepped inside. She looked around in a sort of sad, disappointed way. The place was simply falling apart – she saw crumbs of stone, obviously from the ceiling, scattered all over the floor. Kagome turned and walked through a decrepit doorway hanging off its hinges, feeling uneasy in the dark shadows. She wished she had brought a flashlight or something. She walked into what seemed to be the service room, seeing the pews and slight stage. She could hardly believe the place may have ever been new – the wood for the pews was rotting, the cushions torn and what may once have been red velvet turned into a brownish wreck.

What once may have been a stage for the preacher to do the service and give sermons was now absolutely demolished. Whatever they had as a base had long since collapsed. Kagome frowned as she saw a shadow on the far side, looking like a person. She walked over to that side carefully, and slowly the shadow actually turned into a person in the dim light coming from the moon above through the holes in the ceiling. She gasped – "Mom!" she cried. Her mom turned around and gave her a smile.

"Hey, what's up?" she said, looking completely unharmed but almost… dull. Like she wasn't really there, it was just a talking shell. It wasn't only that – Kagome could feel something odd, that she just couldn't place her finger on. It was something about the way she looked… it wasn't quite right. Kagome ignored the feeling for now, passing it off as a mix of confusion and happiness that at least her mother was unharmed.

"Mom! Where are Souta and Grandpa? And how did you escape?" she asked quickly, filled with relief.

"They're fine. Come on, I'll show you!" her 'mother' replied. Kagome didn't even notice that she skirted the last question. The woman walked off into the shadows, and called out for Kagome to follow. "Come on."

She followed inside the darkness, feeling uneasy as she could hardly see where she was going. Kagome even swore she felt something lightly grab her ankle as she walked, letting go as her mother rounded a corner and stepped inside a room. There was a single lamp in the room, turned off, right by the door, everything else appeared to be rotted so much that there was no way to tell what they had been. Kagome gladly lit it as she walked in, and heard her mother shriek. She looked over and gasped.

The shadow hissed and molded from the shape of her mother to being a large, hulking demon. The door slammed behind her, and the demon stopped writhing in pain. "Hmmph," it said. "I was going to kill you mercifully… But I suppose that since you saw my true form so soon, I'll have to eat you alive!"

Kagome's heart was racing, and her body acted on it's own, free of her mind. She seemed to notch her arrow with almost inhuman speed, and shot a sacred arrow right at the demon's heart. The force of the arrow alone at such a close range sent the demon flying to the other wall, and it easily died within moments. Kagome's mind snapped back from the shock and disappointment, turning into rage. She opened the door, and began to run down the hall. "I'm here!" she shouted while running. "Give me back my family!" She hoped that they would hear her. She wanted them to. She was going to make them pay. Not only had they kidnapped her family, but the demons were also impersonating them now and trying to trick her. She would not stand for it. Kagome didn't care about the plan now. She wanted to take care of things herself. She was going to save her family, no matter what. They had nothing to do with this, after all.

Daniel smirked and looked at Samael. "You heard her, Sam. Should we go see her now?"

Samael stood up. "We may as well. Bring her family – the small demons here wanting to feed off of them won't stay away if we leave them alone." He left the room and headed down the stairs, taking his ring from his pocket and looking at it a little. If they didn't succeed… his human life would be over. Oh well, it hadn't been much fun staying in an office twenty-four-seven anyways. At least he could probably go out with a bang this way.

Daniel cracked his knuckles in anticipation and looked at Kagome's family, the grandfather asleep from lack of food, the mother and boy nearly passed out as well. They could still walk on their own, though. "Get up," he commanded coldly, the superior sneer never leaving his face. "Your precious girlie is here to save you."

Kagome's mother and brother looked up, tired, hungry, and fearful, but now a hint of hope was in the mix. Together, Souta and his mother woke up his grandfather, and they managed to stand up, and started walking behind Daniel.

He snickered at their hope – it was pointless. Without her wolfboy, she stood no chance of defeating him and his brother. Not unless she suddenly powered up a tenfold, which was extremely doubtful.

Samael watched carefully as she ran around wildly. He decided to throw his voice around a little. "You!" he said in a slightly deep baritone, seeming to be coming out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "Go back to the main prayer room, now! We will fight you there."

Kagome heard the voice and shuddered involuntarily at how it came out of nowhere. But, she listened. If only she could find her way back. Suddenly, another shadow appeared, rising in front of her. "You…. This way." It said, remaining relatively shapeless. It led her in a direction, and Kagome cautiously followed, her bow notched and at the ready should it try to attack her. She soon found it has led her to the main room, with the rotting pews and everything – though there was currently a large chunk blasted away or something to that effect. She could see the one who had kidnapped her there, in the middle, standing next to someone else that she didn't recognize. Kagome thought they might be brothers – they looked alike some, and not just because of their tails.

Samael looked at Kagome with a slightly curious look. "There you are. We made an area for fighting where things won't get in the way," he said, a tiny, unnoticeable smirk on his lips now. "Hope you don't mind."

"Your family is over here. Completely unharmed… on our part, at least." Daniel said, smiling nastily as he gestured behind him and Samael.

"Although Daniel here never thought to feed them… I'm afraid they've passed out from hunger at this point."

Kagome glared hatefully at the two of them. "If it's a fight you want… I'll give you a fight. You should have left my family out of this – they had nothing to do with it," she said.

Daniel spat onto the ground. "Hmmph. They have everything to do with it, because of you. Listen, girl. We'll return your family safe and sound… if you tell us where the power of the Shikon Jewel went." He crossed his arms determinedly, a smirk soundly placed on his lips.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "I told you before…" she started. "That I. Don't. Know! Get that through your thick skull, and give me back my family!" She notched an arrow and pointed it at them, her miko powers swirling around her now, flaring out angrily. Her eyes almost seemed to hold murderous intent. "Or this sacred arrow is going straight through your heart!"

Samael disappeared and then reappeared next to her, and knocked the bow out of her hand. "So you may not know where the sacred jewel's power went. However – I refuse to let you threaten my brother," he said, nearly growling.

Kagome glared. "Why not? You've threatened mine."

"Hmph. I already know where the power went anyways," he whispered. "But don't tell my brother that. I'm only here because his sorry little ass needed help. You have family, after all, and you'd help out your little brother if he needed it, wouldn't you?" He jumped back to beside Daniel and raised his voice. "Pick up your weapon and fight Daniel, first. If you can beat him, then you can fight me."

Kagome quickly picked up her bow and arrow and stood at the edge of the area cleared of pews. Samael jumped back out of the area, and leaned against a rotting seat, watching carefully.

Daniel picked up a fighting staff next to him and practiced twirling it around some. "Hah. Come on, try and shoot one of those things at me," he snickered.

Kagome immediately obliged, sending a fairly weak arrow at first, at his shoulder. He blocked it easily. "Hmmph. You'd be better off with a staff yourself."

Kagome narrowed her eyes with Daniel adding insult to injury. "Next one won't be so weak," she told him, notching the bow again. She let her power flare and attempted to concentrate it into the arrow, and let it fly loose towards his stomach side. It obviously had a lot more power, and even Daniel's stuck up little brain could comprehend the danger of not moving – that arrow would probably break right through his staff if he tried deflecting it. So he moved out of the way, the arrow scraping his forearm.

Kagome saw Samael step in and block Daniel. "Enough. You're obviously more powerful than him. It's my turn," he said. He unsheathed a sword from a belt under his trench coat, and stared emotionlessly at her. "I warn you now – I'm not as weak as my brother. I won't be so easy to hit."

Daniel scowled. "Hey! Sam, I'm fine! That arrow barely scratched me!" he snarled.

Samael glared back at Daniel. "That arrow would have killed you if it had done anything more than just scratch you, Daniel! Now shut up and get out of the damn way!" He turned back to Kagome and stood straight.

Kagome felt herself unwillingly tense up. She hadn't even been able to see him earlier… he had far greater speed than her own, not to mention that he had a sword. A _sword_! She would hardly be able to fight against that with her bow and arrows if he got close!

She didn't let her fear show in her face, though, and held an arrow at the ready. "Fine," she said. "I'm ready to start when you are."

Samael ran towards her, and Kagome's brain took a moment to process the danger – he wasn't running at his full speed, as she could still see him, but he had a sword and was coming straight for her. She ran to the side and attempted to aim an arrow at him, but he disappeared before she had the chance. She felt his demon energy somewhere behind her, and she turned around, seeing him with his sword raised and ready to come down. She shut her eyes tightly, knowing she didn't stand a chance of dodging, and heard a clang of metal.

"Kagome, are you alright?" She heard that familiar voice and opened her eyes, seeing Kouga there with a sword of his own. She realized, finally, that he had finally come in because she hadn't started following the plan.

"Y-yea…. I'm fine."

"Good." Kouga said. He picked her up and jumped back in a nice swift, fluid motion. Samael raised an eyebrow curiously.

Daniel spat onto the ground. "Hmmph. So she didn't come alone. Or were you just worried about her and tracked her down with your nose like before, Balto?" he sneered.

Kouga glared at Daniel. "I suggest you shut up. Kagome can purify you in mere seconds if she wanted to and actually tried."

Samael smirked. "So, you realized where the power went as well," he said.

"Of course. It became pretty obvious." Kouga answered. "Kagome, you take care of the other one while I deal with this guy."

Kagome nodded. "Uh, right!" she said. She turned towards Daniel and aimed an arrow. Daniel smirked, and ran towards her, staff at the ready. She heard the clanging of swords coming from Samael and Kouga, shook her head quickly and let the arrow fly towards her current opponent. Daniel dodged the arrow, and came flying at her, swinging his staff towards her side. She tried dodging to the side, but the staff still managed to snag a bit of her, probably leaving a bruise.

She held her side for a moment, wincing, and quickly aimed another arrow, letting her energy flow into it. She shot it at him quickly, watched him barely avoid it, and attempted to dodge as he swung the staff at her again. "Urgh! I can't keep this up!" she muttered. "I'm not fast enough!"

Kouga, on the other hand, was faring much better. He'd either blocked or dodged most attacks fairly easily, only one had hit him in his side, that was still bleeding, but he had already managed to make a deep cut in Samael's shoulder. He blocked Samael's attack, and smirked. Now that he was hurt, he was leaving himself wide open. Kouga moved out of Samael's way, and quickly took the metal base of the sword and slammed it down onto his head, knocking him out. He turned to Kagome's fight, and his eyes widened. "No!" he yelled, running over and taking the hit from Daniel's attack on Kagome.

Kagome gasped. "Kouga!" She bit her lip, thinking. _He got hit because he was protecting me… damn it, I hate being so weak!_

Daniel scowled. "Damn you, getting in the way!" he said. He looked at Kouga's now passed out body on the floor, and turned to Kagome, seeing her aiming an arrow straight at him. Her eyes were ablaze with hate and anger, and the miko energy swirling around her and focusing in the arrow was amazing.

"You're _not_ hurting _anyone_ else I care about!" she shouted at him, releasing the arrow straight at his chest.

Daniel couldn't block or dodge at such a close range, and the arrow hit him, sending him flying back. His staff clattered to the floor, and he landed feet away, his body being purified by the strength of the sacred arrow. It only took a few moments before it was completely gone, leaving the arrow to fall by itself.

"Kouga!" she said, going over and shaking him. "Wake up! Kouga!" He didn't so much as stir. She could see that his head was bleeding, and so was a wound on his side. "No… I'm not letting anyone here die!" Kagome said, placing her hands over the wound in his side and concentrated on healing. It took a few moments, but it healed, and next was the head wound. Mentally, Kagome was surprised at how much power she had now. Before, in the Feudal Era, she was inexperienced and could hardly do anything with her power. Now, though… she'd been able to purify two demons, heal what may possibly have been a fatal wound, and still had power to _spare_.

Kouga opened his eyes and immediately winced. "Ow!" he said, putting a hand to his head. Kagome stopped healing him and sat motionless for a second, then began crying.

"You idiot!" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "If you got hurt so badly, you should have stopped fighting!"

Kouga patted her on the back. "C'mon Kagome, your family. We came here to get them, remember?"

"I know. But you were lying there passed out and and bleeding and… I didn't want you dying either." Kagome sniffed, letting him go. Kouga stood up and help Kagome onto her feet.

"Let's grab your family and go, the others are waiting outside still."

"Kagome! Kouga!" someone shouted. Kagome looked over by one set of doors and smiled weakly. Shippou was standing there, Ginta and Hakkaku right behind him. "You guys are all right!"

"So, the others are waiting outside, huh?" Kagome asked, teasing slightly. "Shippou, yea, we're fine." She walked over to her family and started undoing the ropes. "Hey, one of you guys come over here and help me!" she said as she took out an arrowhead and started to cut. "I can't carry all three of them myself, you know!"

Kouga and Shippou smiled and ran over, picking up Kagome's mother and grandfather, leaving Souta for Kagome herself to carry.

"Guys… thanks a lot. I don't think I'd have had the courage to do anything if I hadn't known you were waiting just outside to back me up," she said quietly.

"Don't worry, Kagome. We're always gonna be there to back you up when you need it." Shippou replied with a grin. "Even though Ginta, Hakkaku, and I didn't do anything."

"Still. Thank you. Now, come on! We need to head home, I think it's almost three A.M. at this point!"

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**Soooo... Whaddya think? This is gonna be the second to last chap, FYI. Sorry. But I want to wrap up this story so I can start on a new one. I don't want to have to be trying to write multiple stories at once, you know. :P. Please review, it'll make me happy! I want to know what you guys think. I promise this will have a happy ending. Next chap is basically an epilogue, OK? Ok. Again, review please! Just five minutes to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, any CC, etc!**


	16. Epilogue Part 1

**Hey there.**

**I lied.**

**This isn't the last chapter.**

**It's the first half of the Epilogue. It's 1433 w/o AN.**

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In the Present Forever

Epilogue - Part 1

It had been over two years since Kagome had been kidnapped. She'd talked to Samael a bit before purifying the church that day, and he wasn't out to get her or anything. Her life was back to normal – or as normal as it could get, being a priestess with a demon boyfriend. About six months ago, she and Kouga had started dating. It was comfortable now. In a week, she'd be officially graduating from high school. She was back to laughing with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, just hanging out. Of course, she'd kind of kept the fact she had a boyfriend from them – even though they kept trying to set her up with Hojo. "Kagome!" she heard, thinking it was over by the gate as they walked out of school. She looked, and smiled.

"Hey, Kouga!" she replied, waving. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi blinked for a minute, then got suspicious looks on their faces.

"Kagome," Eri started, looking at the priestess, eyebrows arched curiously.

"Are you dating that guy?" Yuka finished, crossing her arms, as if she didn't approve.

"Without telling us about it?" Ayumi added, a note of disbelief and, incredibly, betrayal.

Kagome sweatdropped. "What makes you say that?" she asked, wondering how they could figure that out just from her smiling and waving at him.

"Easy. First, the smile you had on your face. It's not the same smile you give me, Eri, or Ayumi when you see us." Yuka said, the other two nodding their heads in agreement.

"And he came to see you after-school, Kagome. I mean, if he's not your boyfriend, why would he do that?" Eri insisted.

Kagome blinked. The smile comment kind of made sense, but… Eri's logic really had no logic whatsoever. "Um… Eri, just because he's a guy and came to see me after school doesn't make him my boyfriend," she said. "If Shippou had already graduated and came to see me after school, you wouldn't assume _he_ was my boyfriend, now would you?"

Eri blinked, and quirked her head, looking confused.

"Um, Kagome, I think you're breaking Eri." Ayumi said, poking Eri in the arm.

"I think you're right…."

"Kagome! Come on, I want to talk to you!" Kouga shouted playfully.

"Alright, Kouga! Give me a moment!" she replied. Kagome looked back at the three of them, and sighed. "But yes, he is my boyfriend, guys. Gotta go now!" She ran towards Kouga, leaving the three of them to gasp and yell at Kagome while she ran away, demanding that she get back to them and tell them why she hadn't told them before. She ran past Kouga, smiling. "Come on, Kouga!" she laughed.

Kouga smirked and started racing after her, catching up easily. "Now that I have your attention, Kagome," he said teasingly, grabbing hold of her around the waist and keeping her from running any farther. Kagome laughed along with him, feeling so… normal when he did this. She loved that feeling. Being normal, after all the things that were so weird and out of the ordinary, felt pretty good. Yes, all the things that had happened to her had been exciting, and fun, but… they'd also made her feel bad that she couldn't tell her friends about them. Things like this were normal.

"Kouga, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Kagome asked, remembering what he said a couple minutes ago.

Kouga became a little more serious. "Let's go out tonight, it's Friday. We can talk then, ok? Wear something kind of fancy – and just trust me. I'll pick you up around… seven-thirty?"

Kagome looked at him questioningly, but shrugged it off and nodded. "All right. I'll see you tonight." She smiled at him, mentally wondering what it was he wanted to talk about with her.

"Good. I've got to go run some errands, but I'll see you tonight." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and jogged off in another direction. Kagome quirked her head for a moment, but left it alone and started to walk again, going over her schedule for the day, not really noticing how her heart was still beating fast, and how heated her cheeks felt. She didn't have to go to work, and she had quite a bit of money saved up from her job… She'd go home, then go shopping for a nice dress, and be back in plenty of time to take a bath and get ready. She smiled to herself, and hummed a little as she walked home.

Dress shopping left her with less time than she anticipated – she barely finished before Kouga came, dressed in black slacks and a white button up. She looked at him, a sort of sarcastic, teasing comment coming to mind. "I didn't know you could pull off white collar."

Kouga looked at her, and seemed kind of amazed. Kagome's dress was a nice, navy blue, going down to her ankles, with one sleeve that hung off of her shoulder, and clung slightly to her body. "Uh… right." Kouga said, snapping back to reality. "You look good yourself." He was slightly embarrassed at having stared – but she damn looked good in the dress.

Kagome blushed slightly and looked down a bit. "Thanks. I guess mom let you in?" Kouga nodded. Kagome's mother poked her head around the corner, and winked at Kagome.

"Have fun," she whispered. "He's such a perfect gentleman – make sure you don't let him get away." She giggled, and dashed into the kitchen as Kagome turned red and gave her a dirty look.

Kouga smiled wryly, and held out his hand. "Come on, we should go now."

Kagome looked back at Kouga and agreed. She took his hand and walked out of the hall, him leading her outside to an expensive-looking car. Secretly now, she was wondering if he worked, or if he had amassed a fortune over the past five-hundred years and just used it as needed or something. Kouga opened the passenger door for her, and climbed in on the driver's side. "Now, you're gonna have to make sure you don't freak out," he teased, while driving.

"I will not freak out!" Kagome protested. Kouga snickered. "You can be such a jerk sometimes, Kouga."

"Hey, don't worry. I'm just teasing you, Kagome."

Kagome's eyes widened as they pulled into the parking lot of Andiamo – one of the best Italian restaurants around! "Ohmigod, Kouga, th-"

"Hey, no freaking out, remember?" Kouga said. "Come on, did you think there was no rhyme or reason for me to ask you to dress fancy?" He pulled into a spot neatly, and got out of the car, going and opening the door for Kagome again. Kouga offered out his hand again, and helped her out, closing the door behind her. They didn't even have to wait in line – Kouga apparently had a reservation. They got a table, ordered, and were just talking, smiling, laughing.

After they'd eaten, a waiter came by and placed a box on the table, which Kouga snagged up. He looked almost nervous, now. Kagome wondered what was going on, and blinked, lost. She heard the current song end, and the pianist started another, something soft and rather romantic.

Kouga cleared his throat and took a deep breath, looking up at Kagome. He got out of his chair, kneeled down next to her, and opened the box to reveal a platinum ring with what looked like part of the Shikon Jewel in it. "Kagome…" he started. "Will you marry me?"

Kagome's brain went dead. Or at least, it did for a few seconds. She blinked, unsure of what to say. Her mouth and vocal cords, on the other hand, did. "Yes!" she heard herself exclaim, and as she snapped back to the moment, her brain wrapping around the situation now, she flung her arms around his neck excitedly. She realized something in those few, still moments – after all that she'd been through, she truly did love Kouga. It hadn't been like her feelings for Inuyasha – it was much more powerful than that had been. Now she'd finally realized it.

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**Heeeyyyy. After THIS is the final chap. Sorry, but this chap was just... urgh. I got to about this point and just couldn't figure out how to continue without an awkward part. DX. I hate writing fluff. It just doesn't agree with me; I rp fluff better. *sigh*. Oh well. I'm going to try and work on the 2nd pt, and upload it sometime soon.**


	17. Epilogue Part 2

**So. I finally updated the final chap. The story is done. Finished. I was having trouble writing at the end, so it's pretty crappy, but yea. Hope you enjoy - about 1750 words w/o au's.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF INUYASHA - JUST OC'S AND THE PLOTLINE.**

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In the Present Forever

Epilogue Part 2

Kagome spun around in front of Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi in the dress. It was a light, peachy color; strapless and form fitting until around her knees, where it flared out. "What do you think of this one?" she asked. They looked at her, all three still in their lavender bridesmaids dresses, and shook their heads. Ayumi handed her the next dress, an almost brassy-goldish colored one that had a tiered-lace skirt that poofed out from her waist and pointed towards the dressing room.

"Next!" the other two chorused happily. Kagome sweatdropped, took the dress, and changed. This process went over again and again, removing dresses from the possibilities they'd picked out until they finally found one that they absolutely fawned over when she came out in it.

"Kagome, that one is perfect!" Ayumi squealed, looking almost ready to spazz out. The dress that they had decided on was a pure white, with the top part like a corset, the sleeves resting directly on her shoulder, poofing slightly. They in fact reminded her of Cinderella's dress, at the sleeves. Poofy like that; except not so high, more flat but still fluffy. The dress flared out at her hips, looking like multiple layers of lace and some glitter spread out on the top, especially from the corset, which was decorated with glitter in front.

Kagome smiled almost nervously, like the three of them were rather freaking her out. She admit to herself, though, that she loved the dress as much as they did. Even more so, probably, since she got to wear it! Looking at the price, however, wasn't fun; it was only _super_ expensive. "Hmm… do you guys think I should go ahead and spend the money on it anyway, and just keep it and give it to my kids or something, or pick one that costs less?"

"Definitely go ahead and spend the money for that one, Kagome." Eri insisted. "It's absolutely perfect!"

Kagome smiled.

"Thanks, Eri, Yuka, Ayumi. I'm going to get changed back into street clothes now, you three need to do the same already!" The four of them laughed a little, and went into the changing rooms. As they left the store, dresses neatly placed in boxes and carried in bags, Kagome spotted a familiar reddish-brown headed girl leaning against the wall, a sad look on her face. "Hold on…" she said to the others. She gently set down her boxes, then cupped her hands around her mouth. "Ayame! Is that you?"

Said girl looked up, saw Kagome, and ran over. "Kagome! I've been looking for you." Ayame exclaimed. She looked uncertainly at Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri, then whispered. "Can I talk to you alone? I… I really don't want anyone listening in."

"Umm... ok." Kagome replied, perplexed. She turned to the other three girls. "Hey, we need to talk alone, 'kay? I think we should wrap up the rest of what we planned for today tomorrow, instead. Then we can have our chill day on Sunday, and get back on schedule on Monday."

The three nodded, and smiled at Ayame. "Hope to see you tomorrow, then, Ayame." Eri said, already assuming that she was going to hang out with them after this. "Kagome, we'll take the dress with us, so you don't have to worry about it. See you tomorrow!" Ayumi took the liberty of grabbing Kagome's wedding dress, and waved good-bye.

"Thanks guys!" Kagome called after them. She turned her attention back to Ayame and rubbed her arm a little nervously. "How about we go to the nearby park. Hardly anyone is there most of the time. There's virtually no chance of being overheard."

Ayame nodded in agreement, and kept an uncomfortable silence between them until they were sitting on a park bench. "So. You're getting married to Kouga now?" she asked, her voice sounding rather forced at the moment.

Kagome knew it probably wasn't wise to answer an obvious question, but she felt the words force themselves out of her mouth anyways. "Yes. He asked me a couple of weeks ago."

Ayame's bangs were covering her eyes now, making it impossible to see them. Kagome felt sure that she must be about to cry, though. "Ayame…" Kagome murmured, feeling regretful for having so blatantly said that.

"Kagome… tell me, when did you realize that you actually loved Kouga back?" she asked, her voice breaking near the end.

Kagome thought back to the restaurant, when Kouga proposed, and looked up at the sky as she tried to find the right words to explain it. "When he proposed, my brain just kind of… froze. Well, more like my body. My brain was practically electrocuting itself." Kagome smiled weakly. "It was like in those few seconds, I reviewed everything that had happened since I became stuck here in the present more than two years ago now. And… I just kind of realized it then, that I did love him back. After all that had happened, especially with what went on maybe a couple weeks after getting back."

Ayame was silent for a moment, then stood up. "All right… thanks, I was just wondering, that's all." She was clearly trying to sound stronger than she really was at the moment.

Kagome felt a pang of guilt and pity. Ayame had been the one who loved Kouga first, after all. Kagome felt like she'd stolen him away from her, permanently. "Ayame," she started, getting up and putting a hand gently on Ayame's shoulder. "I know you were the one who loved Kouga first… I'm sorry, I feel like I've stolen him from you." Her tone sounded almost as guilty as she felt.

Ayame turned around, and looked Kagome in the eyes. "I was such a fool all these years!" she cried, the tears freely streaming down her face. "I thought that he would love me back if I kept after him, kept chasing him down and forcing him to spend time with me!" She flopped down into the grass, and Kagome looked up as the gray clouds up ahead looked as though they were going to start spilling tears themselves. She ignored the possibility of rain, however, and knelt next to Ayame, gently stroking her back and comforting the demoness as best she could, not saying anything and just letting her cry.

Once Ayame was done crying, Kagome helped her up. Ayame turned to her, wiping her face of tears; grateful for the rain that had begun falling some time ago and was hiding the fact that the wet streaks on her face were not from rain, except her eyes were red and somewhat puffy.

"Thanks…" she said quietly, her voice somewhat back to normal. "Sorry about that." She hardly looked as okay as her voice suggested, however. Kagome gave her a sympathetic face, and began to speak.

"Ayame… come shopping with me and my friends tomorrow. Please. I feel like you should come with us." Kagome told her, and added jokingly, "Besides, I think that Eri already decided that you're coming, period."

Ayame smiled a tiny bit, and gave a shrug. "I don't know… maybe. What are you even shopping for?"

Kagome smiled, happy that she was able to goad Ayame's curiosity to get her to stop looking like someone just died. "We bought all the wedding dresses today, we were wanting to pick out bouquets and flower decorations too, but we're doing it tomorrow instead."

Ayame looked as though she was pondering it for a moment, and then nodded. "It makes sense… I'll go. People always used to say that I was good at arranging flowers." She giggled a bit, though it was weak and she still sounded a bit depressed.

Kagome smiled encouragingly, and ran a hand through her wet hair, now hoping to get home soon so she didn't get sick. "I'll see you tomorrow – I need to get home before I catch a cold, and so do you! Tomorrow, you can meet us by the children's park here, okay?"

The next day was a little tense, because Kagome's normal friends were wondering what exactly Ayame was going to have to do with the wedding, but they soon got used to her being around, helping to choose a wonderful bouquet of white roses and lilies, matching the dress perfectly. The flowers Kagome decided on for the reception and ceremony were the arbutus flowers, baby's breath, and some hibiscus flowers. Already Kagome was feeling overwhelmed at the sheer beauty of the flower arrangements.

After that, it wasn't long before the wedding date – September 8 – arrived. And now Kagome was the one who was worrying about this and that, some other thing, and feeling insecure about everything. Ayame – who was now her maid of honor in this whole thing, which had rather peeved her friends off – calmed her down, quickly going over all the things Kagome was freaking out about, saying it had been finished or taken care of hours ago. In fact, most all of the guests were even there already.

The ceremony itself went off without a single problem – when the preacher had asked if any objected, no one made a peep (not even Kagome's grandfather, who had insisted he was against the whole thing from the start), they both said "I do" with no hesitation, and they kissed.

About two hours later, the reception started – the presents were all brought out, there was a plate order of food for the people that had remembered to RSVP (hors d'oeuvres going around for those who forgot), champagne was being served (watered down severely for children), and after everyone finished eating their dinner, there was dancing, and other normal wedding-type-things to do.

A few years later, Kagome gave birth to baby boy, who was decided to be named Natsu, and even later came along a baby girl, Maemi. Both, of course, had jet-black hair like their parents, and the same blue eyes. The resemblances were uncanny. Being hanyou, they had cute little wolfish ears that had been masked with the same protection magic that Kouga and the others used as soon as possible.

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**Yep. It ends on that crappy note. I know it's just... left open... Sorry. *headdesk* I just couldn't force any more writing out. T_T. My brain is dead, my writing muse poofed ages ago, and I just wanted to get the last chap done so that you guys weren't waiting for forever on it. At some point, I'll come out with another story (albeit not for Inuyasha), so... yea. Fun.**


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